Eruption
by LayerCake
Summary: After an unexpected moment at a ball, Lance and Allura must reassess their relationship while normal Voltron business, like shooting and fighting, occurs. Lance/Allura pairing.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron or associated stuff.

Spoilers: This is set in the new Voltron Force series canon, after 'Ghost in the Lion' or thereabouts.

Rating: T for language and adult content. If any M rated fun happens, it will be noted in individual chapters.

Pairing: Lance/Allura. They don't get enough love. From each other, specifically.

Summary: After an unexpected moment at a ball, Lance and Allura face some changes in their relationship.

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><p>"Princess! I've been looking for you!"<p>

Allura schooled her features into her best diplomatic smile, only to be disappointed when she turned. It wasn't an ambassador or government official she couldn't in good conscience avoid, but one of the insufferable princes she'd been attempting to escape. "Oh, Prince…" Her brain froze and she instinctively searched for Coran to come to her aid with a timely whisper in her ear, but he was barely visible in the dense crowd near the refreshments on the other side of the ballroom. She would have to get out of this one on her own. If only she could remember something other than what an awful dancer the young man was. "Prince…"

A dip in his overlong epaulettes accentuated the droop of his shoulders when he had to say himself, "Ajax. Prince Ajax of the…"

"Qirillian Empire," she finished, somewhat relieved as the rote learning came back in a rush. His father was the squat man in the ostentatious uniform who had given an unwelcome and overly long toast at dinner. He was ruler of a distant, minor region bordering an Arusian ally's territory, only recently gaining enough importance to merit an invitation to a ball on Arus, at least according to the information Coran had given her to memorize for tonight. They were suppliers of…some mineral. Perhaps she needed to spend more time on Coran's briefings. "Prince Ajax, of course. I apologize." She took a deep breath and shifted from her diplomatic smile to her pseudoflirty smile. "I was just stepping outside for a breath of fresh air. I find it gets very stuffy in here when one has been dancing."

"I would be honored to escort you on a turn about the garden. I had so hoped to spend a private moment with you, Princess."

"Oh. Oh, that's…kind of you. But perhaps you…" _You could go away._ Her eyes darted around, looking for an excuse. She finally lit on the tray of a passing steward. "You could get me something to drink while I step out."

"What would you…"

She settled her hand on the prince's forearm for a moment. "Surprise me."

He reddened and puffed out his chest. "I will not fail you, Princess!"

He dove into the crowd and she slipped out the door into the gardens. The night air was cool against her flushed skin. She really had done a considerable amount of dancing, as her sore feet could attest. The reentry of Arus into the favored ranks of the Galaxy Alliance had involved too many of these time-consuming events. She would almost welcome an attack like the one Lotor had perpetrated during the Galactic Music Festival. Almost.

Hearing voices from the bench she knew was around the next corner, she turned between two tall hedges. She swore under her breath as she stepped off the path and her heel sank into the soft soil. Her curse was louder as she realized she was about to fall into a flowerbed in her ball gown. At the last moment, someone caught her from behind. She was back on firm if springy ground a moment later. In spite of the fact that her rescuer had yet to remove his hands from her hips, she said, "Thank you."

"That's better. Before, wow. Such improper language for a princess. You're lucky I didn't faint from the shock before I could grab you."

Her lack of alarm at the continued contact was explained the moment the sarcastic speech began. She nearly lost her balance again as she spun, but Lance had yet to let go. She swatted at his chest. "I probably learned it from you."

"Nah, you only use ones that bad in the Lions." He stepped back with a laugh and held out his arm, which she took gratefully as they picked their way through the grass back to a stone path. He touched his insignia and medals in a perfunctory manner. "Tell me you aren't here to drag me back in there."

"I wasn't, but now I may. You must have been hiding out here all night, because I've barely seen you, in spite of the crowd of eligible debutantes. Keith is suffering alone."

"Hey, I'm doing him a favor! Without me around to distract the ladies, he'll be more likely to find somewhere he'll want to stick his blazing sword."

He grinned as she gave him another swat before settling on the rim of one of the more secluded fountains. "At the very least, you have to come back inside to dance. You always let me have one."

"Huh." He plopped down beside her. "And here I thought you were the one doing me the favor."

"Not at all, every time I can dance with one of you guys it saves me from a prince. Some of them are just boring, others think they can put their hands wherever they want."

Lance became unexpectedly serious. "Need me to remind them how they should be behaving with you?"

"I can handle it. But thank you."

He frowned for a moment longer, but nodded. "Guess now I have a reason to come back in, anyway. I did stay inside earlier long enough to make it to the kitchens." He pushed up his sleeve and reached under the water to pull out a bottle of champagne, one she recognized from a case specially delivered that afternoon on a GA ship with some other Earth delicacies. "I was heading back from letting it chill when I found you uttering profanities in the roses."

"That was supposed to be for the ball!"

"Waste of the good stuff if you ask me. Seeing as very few in there would appreciate it, I may have pushed the crate it came from to the back of the pantry. Watch out."

"Oh!" She jumped slightly as the cork flew into the bushes with an audible pop, but Lance was suddenly steadying her with a hand on her waist.

"I didn't think I'd be sharing, so I didn't think to bring any glasses."

"So how are we supposed to…" She rolled her eyes as he took a long swig directly from the bottle. "Naturally."

"Hey, you've been the proper princess all night in there. Live a little."

She pursed her lips, but accepted the bottle. "This better not be like that Scotch you made me try…"

"Not at all. Bottoms up."

She lifted the bottle to her lips and took an experimental sip. The bubbles were unexpected, but the taste was pleasant. "It's like sparkling Arusian wine." She tipped the bottle again.

"What, like I'd ever let you…" His hand was suddenly under her chin, just as she felt a little dribble from the corner of her mouth. "Whoa, don't go crazy, now."

She made an effort to swallow before wiping her chin. "Sorry."

"No need to apologize to me. I'm sure someone would find a reason to yell at me if you stained the dress, though." He took the bottle from her and tipped it to his own lips. She watched his throat bob as he took a long drink. His eyes cut toward her and she realized she was staring. The ground was suddenly very interesting. She heard him gulp twice before saying, "It's good. Not high on the alcohol content, but good."

"Hm."

He silently passed the bottle back to her and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his uniform. "I think maybe these formal Voltron Force uniforms need a redesign."

"I think you look handsome. All of you," she quickly added before taking another sip from the bottle. "Keith is certainly popular tonight."

"Well, that's true of any ball. I think it's because people'd notice if he tried to escape. Besides, being choked to death by your dress whites is something of a military tradition."

She neglected to mention that at least five of the available princesses had been asking after him. "Like you wouldn't just wear your flight suit and leather jacket if given the option."

"Like you wouldn't? Well, not the jacket, but…you know." He took the bottle back, but didn't drink. "For the record, I am a fan of the dress. I always appreciate the flight suit but…" he looked her up and down admiringly, "yeah. Very hot."

She took the compliment as sincere for the first time that night. "Thank you. I suppose. I wish I could wear my Voltcom with it, though."

He took a long drink of champagne before setting the bottle on the ground with a clunk. "Maybe Pidge could work on some kind of version you could wear for this kind of thing." She was about to agree that it was a great idea when his hands encircled her right thigh. "Y'know, like a Voltcom garter."

Her first instinct was to pull back, which would have resulted in a quick swim. She settled on another backhand to the chest. "Lance!" He pulled his hands away, but didn't look very guilty. His right hand, in which he'd been holding the champagne, had left a darker half-circle on the blue silken fabric of her gown. "Look what you did."

"It's just water. Really, though, imagine the look on one of those handsy bastards when you reach up your skirt and pull out the whip! 'Course, then you might just attract a kinkier kind of prince. Bet Lotor'd love it."

"Don't even…"

"Sorry. That was too far even for me." He picked up the champagne bottle and handed it to her. "Might be for the best that I'm out here and the diplomats are in there."

She softened, leaning into him as she was beginning to feel the chill of the night. "Have you really been out here by yourself all night?"

"Well, not _all_ night."

"And how much have you had to drink?"

He glanced behind them into the water. "Bottle and a half. Still got one left in there."

"You've already had a whole bottle of this yourself?"

"It's not that strong."

She tried to ignore the fact that the bubbles felt like they traveled from her stomach directly to her head as she took another sip from the bottle. Setting it down on the opposite side, she stood carefully. "All right. Walk me back inside?"

"We should really finish up the bottle first. It doesn't keep well once it's open."

"Lance…" He was using his best half-pleading, half-smirking expression. She was about to mention that Prince Ajax was waiting for her, but the thought of going back to him decided it. She sank back onto the rim of the fountain. "You really should come inside. You'll be pursued even harder than Keith."

"Yeah, well…it's not a popularity contest." He looked away. They sipped champagne from the bottle for a few minutes in companionable silence. Music drifted through the gardens, combining with the trickling water of the fountain. She was about to reluctantly suggest getting back to the eager prince when Lance set the mostly empty bottle on the ground. "Care to dance?"

"Here?"

"Why not?"

"Are you joking?"

"Never about something so serious." He held out his hand, a smile spreading across his features. After a moment's hesitation, she accepted.

"What brought this on?"

He shrugged as he pulled her close and she wrapped an arm around his neck. "Like you said, I owe you a dance. And I like this song."

"I don't recognize it."

"Another GA import."

"It's…" she closed her eyes as she rested her head against Lance's shoulder, not really paying attention to the music. He had shaved just before the ball and smelled of whatever aftershave he used. She nuzzled into his neck. "…nice."

He hummed atonally into her hair as they danced. His movements were nowhere near as graceful as he was in battle, but it felt so much more natural here than in the ballroom. No complicated steps, no prince to sweet-talk for the sake of trade negotiations, no one to merely tolerate. Just Lance. He held her closer than anyone on the dance floor had, in arms that had tossed her to the mats countless times during hand to hand combat training. He could have put his hands anywhere without her protesting. She felt strangely safe, content. And there was something else.

_Kiss me._

She wasn't sure if she'd said it out loud or merely thought it, but he immediately stiffened. "Allura…"

Although she'd surprised herself with the suggestion, she looked up into his eyes. "Please?"

He didn't hesitate further like she suspected anyone else would have. His lips were softer than she had expected, not at all like his calloused fingertips, which she could feel gripping her hips through the thin material of her dress. She pulled herself into him, wanting to be closer. The flavor of the champagne was still in his mouth, the scent of his aftershave and soap perfumed every breath that came through her nose. This wasn't how she had imagined the night, but as it continued, she realized she wouldn't change a thing. His arms tightened around her, hands moving up to the bare skin of her back as the kiss deepened. By the gods, if _this_ could be the rest of the night…

They were interrupted by a voice coming from the opposite side of the hedges. "Hello? Princess Allura? Are you here?"

She pulled back with a sigh. "Ajax."

Lance growled, "Who?"

"Some prince," she clarified, finally feeling the importance of the disturbance.

"Oh. You should probably go back, then." He licked his lips as he looked down at her.

She abruptly realized that she shouldn't have been alone in the garden, shouldn't have sat drinking champagne with Lance, shouldn't have agreed to dance. In spite of herself, she gave into temptation, rising to her tiptoes to peck his lips. All it did was remind her of what they'd had a moment before. "I think…come back inside, okay?"

"Yeah. Later. You've got a prince hunting you right now. Not one of the grabby ones, is he?"

"No."

"Oh, good." He turned and walked away.

She started back toward the castle. When she glanced over her shoulder, he was sitting on the edge of the fountain again, drinking the remainder of the champagne. She was about to turn and go back to him when Prince Ajax rounded the corner and spotted her. "Princess! There you are! I brought you sparkling wine!"

"Oh, thank you, Prince Ajax." She accepted a tall glass of the Arusian drink.

"May I escort you back inside?"

"Of course." She glanced over her shoulder, but Lance was gone, the bottle remaining on the fountain. It was difficult to tell in the dark, but she suspected it was now empty.


	2. Chapter 2

_Ooh, Lance, right there._

_God, you feel so good, Allura. _

_Harder, harder…mmmmm…oh, oh…_

Lance woke with a start just before the end of one of his favorite dreams and rubbed his fists into his eyes, a headache he'd have to work through without excuses concentrated in the center of his skull. The first bottle of champagne had been a good idea, but the second had been a step too far. The third…that was the real problem. It was still sitting on his bedside table, mocking him.

He glanced around his room. His dress Voltron Force uniform was thrown over a chair, rather than on the floor. He had to send it out for cleaning before the next ball, but still…. He'd gotten back to his room with enough wherewithal to keep his uniform presentable. And there was no hot but hard-to-remember ball guest in his bed. Another plus. Come to think of it, he hadn't woken up with a nearly anonymous woman since he'd returned to Arus. There'd been enough traffic through the castle lately that it shouldn't have been difficult.

He had to admit it was hard to sleep around when you could only think about one woman and not all women. He'd hit that snag on Earth within the first few weeks of taking the job at the Flight Academy. He'd also become acutely aware of how much women hated being called the wrong name in bed. He'd gone through it a few times and then given up, a first for him. Now he was back on Arus and more frustrated than ever.

To make things worse, he had kissed Allura at some point during the night. Okay, that was going to prove more problematic than some wrinkles or a one night stand. Or maybe it was a sign his dry spell was coming to an end. Which was not a thought he could afford to have.

God, had she been beautiful last night. Not that _that_ was something unusual, but the long, backless dress and the hair up and…just everything. He'd gotten a sneak preview a week before when he'd ducked into the wrong room to get out of a reprimand from Keith for some stupid thing and walked in on a fitting for the ball. The seamstress had tried to toss him out, but Allura had insisted he stay and give his opinion, which had consisted mainly of comments designed to test how far down her exposed back a blush could spread. The seamstress had managed to get him into the hallway just in time for a lecture from Keith about…proper decorum when interacting with royalty, that was it. Especially concerning blonde, green-eyed, ridiculously sexy princesses who piloted Blue Lion.

Like Keith had a leg to stand on there. Or maybe he did. Keith was always a stickler for protocol.

Damn it, why did she have to be so, so… Damn it. And he was pretty sure, even considering he'd been drinking, that she'd asked him to kiss her. She may have even said please. She'd had a little to drink, but not much, assuming she hadn't been downing shots in the ballroom. Yeah, not likely. He'd been on the second bottle at the time, so he knew he could potentially blame it on the alcohol if she greeted him with a slap across the face when she saw him. Or maybe she was going to punch him really hard where it counted. That was probably going to come up at some point before he'd gotten over his hangover. She was going to be busy seeing off the dignitaries for at least most of the morning, so that bought him some time. Or maybe he could just lie in bed all day and…

His Voltcom beeped on from behind the empty bottle on the bedside table. Great. "Yeah, what?"

"Morning, Lance. Rough ball?"

"Pidge…" _You have no idea._ He sighed. There was no reason to shoot the messenger. "I can't even come up with a stupid ball-related pun right now. What's going on?"

"There's a strange signal coming from a planet in the Faros sector. It was one of the locations we'd thought Wade had some kind of freaky research going on, but Keith never got a chance to check it out before he found Black. With all the volcanic activity near it, I figured Red Lion would be the best…"

"Ugh. Fine." Throwing off the covers, Lance sat up and pressed his feet to the cold floor, trying to tell himself that anything that got him out of the castle for a while was a good thing. "Gimme a cadet to torture and I'll be there in five."

"No prob. Daniel's been…"

"Yeah, have him do the preflight checks and I'll meet him in Red in ten."

"I thought you said five. Are you okay to…?"

"Yeah! Just need a shower!"

Lance slammed his bathroom door on the Voltcom before Pidge could say anything further and cranked his shower to the hottest possible setting. Sometime between dreaming and waking up to think about Allura, physiology had had come into play and now he was stuck. _No time, McClain. Ignore it._ Stepping into the shower, the water seared his skin, reddening every spot it touched. He contemplated leaving it on that temperature before turning it down to something more pleasant. The more he thought about the previous night, the less willpower he was able to maintain. A cold shower was what he needed, but her feel and flavor were too fresh in his mind. He succumbed to his usual temptation while his hair was still full of suds.

He exhaled sharply not long afterwards with the final pump of his fist. "Damn it, Allura."

He tried not to think about her as he dried off and dressed, but the effort was futile. This was not going to be an easy night to forget.

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><p>Allura tried to tell herself that she wasn't rushing through her morning routine. If she spent as much time getting ready for a regular day as she did for a ball, she'd never get anything done. So what if her hair wasn't perfectly smooth or her mascara was a little smudged? She would have had herself convinced had one of her maids not commented on the fact that she wasn't wearing her crown as she left her room. At least she'd remembered her Voltcom.<p>

She briefly contemplated checking in with the Control Room, but reasoned that someone would contact her if she were needed. Lance wouldn't be there this early the day after a ball if not absolutely necessary. It was better this way. She preferred to have this conversation privately.

Just before the turn down the hallway to the team's quarters, she was confronted by an entirely different issue. "Princess! Good morning! I'm so pleased to see you so I can thank you personally for a wonderful stay on Arus. You are truly a shining example of…"

Her tolerance was lower than normal today, so she interrupted, "Prince Ajax, you flatter me."

"But it is all true, Princess! I…my father will be hosting a ball soon. I know it is too much to hope you could attend, but…"

"Speak to Coran before you leave. I'm sure Arus will be able to send a representative if I'm not able to be there myself."

"Oh, thank you, Princess, thank you! Your presence would be such a great honor for the Qirillian Empire, I can barely fathom…"

She began to edge down the hallway. "I can't guarantee…"

"Oh, forgive me. I know you have important obligations here. Just the thought that you would be willing…"

"Of course. Well, I'm sure your ship is leaving soon. Have a pleasant journey home. It's been very nice meeting you, Prince Ajax."

He bowed and kissed the hand she offered for him to shake. "I'm still in shock my father and I were honored with an invitation! I will treasure my memories of this visit as long as I live."

"Right. Well." She pulled her hand out of his tight grip. "Again, thank you for coming."

"Thank _you_, Princess. Thank you for allowing me the honor of…"

This was getting painful. Allura beckoned to a passing castle guard. "Officer, will you ensure that Prince Ajax finds his ship?"

She wasn't sure, but the guard seemed to give her a knowing smile after a glance at the still groveling prince. "Of course, Princess. I'll make sure he's safely off the planet."

She rolled her eyes after turning away from the pair. Lance's door was the last on the right, but as she passed, Hunk's opened. "Princess! Were you coming to tell me the breakfast buffet is out of bacon?"

It was hard not to return his bright smile. "I have no idea what's left. I was actually on my way to speak to Lance."

"Well, I better get down there before someone else eats it all! The next shipment from Earth isn't due 'til next week! See ya later!" He ran down the hall, causing the framed portraits to clatter against the walls.

Her smile faded by the time she stood outside Lance's door. Although her drive to talk with him had been present since she'd awoken after keeping her tossing and turning all night, she suddenly realized she hadn't thought about what she would say. Was it even so important that she talk to him right away? Well, she was here and if they didn't talk, they could find something else to do. She licked her lips. It had felt like more than a kiss to her, so much more, but…Lance had far more experience than she did. If he thought…

She raised her hand to press the chime, but paused. She was probably being silly. It wasn't as if they'd slept together. That would be… she wasn't sure, but probably more discomfiting. Or would it? Sometimes she felt like such a child. The biological process wasn't much of a mystery, but textbooks didn't mention the emotional entanglements. Would Lance even get emotionally involved? _Gods, why am I even thinking about this? It was just a kiss! _She steeled herself and knocked, hard. There was no point getting herself tied up in knots about one kiss.

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, she realized that knocking probably wasn't getting through the heavy door. She pressed the chime. "Lance? Are you awake?" Leaning close to the door, she listened carefully. After a moment, she keyed in an override code and stepped into Lance's room.

She'd been here many times before, though never alone. It took her only a moment to establish this was the case. The bed was unmade, a t shirt and pants in a pile on top of the rumpled covers, his dress uniform hanging precariously from a chair. His leather jacket was not on its hook. She sighed and smoothed a pillow with her hand before picking up the empty champagne bottle on the bedside table and dropping it into a small garbage bin. Taking a final look around the room, she inhaled deeply. His cologne was fast becoming an addiction. She turned on her heel and rushed out the moment the thought of stealing the shirt off the bed came into her head.

Pidge was the only one present in the Control Room when she entered shortly afterwards. "Good morning. How did you enjoy the ball?"

He glanced at her over his shoulder, fingers still working the holoscreens in front of him. "Are you okay?"

"What? Why?"

"You seem kind of out of breath, that's all."

"Oh, I was…hurrying here to…" she caught herself before mentioning Lance, "Oh, to get away from a prince. He wouldn't stop thanking me for inviting him."

"Yeah, a lot of new faces at the ball last night. I thought it was fine. I kept getting pulled away from the programmer I was trying to talk to by women who wanted to dance with a member of the Voltron Force. Still, found out a lot about the new computer language he's developing. It might help me figure out this wall I've hit with the Nexus."

"Um, good. Good. Where is everyone?"

"Keith is doing some hand to hand training with Vince and Larmina and Hunk just called from breakfast to ask if I wanted him to bring me some sausage since they're now out of bacon."

She laughed, but it sounded fake in her own ears. She casually circled the workstation. Was he going to make her beg? "And…Lance?"

"Oh, he and Daniel should be back sometime tomorrow if all goes well."

"Tomorrow? Where did they go?"

He looked up from his holoscreens, which she had come close to shoving her head through. "Oh, no one briefed you? We picked up something strange from a suspected Wade base and they went to take a look."

"Without backup?"

"Lance didn't think they'd need any, Keith agreed. It's strictly recon. Get in, get readings I can't get from here, get out. If it looks like trouble, we can be there fairly quickly."

"And Lance just…volunteered for this?"

"Not exactly. The planet is highly volcanically active, so Red Lion seemed like the best choice."

"Oh, of course. Obviously. I was just surprised he wasn't sleeping in."

"Day after the ball, right." Pidge grinned. "I heard a whole case of champagne from Earth disappeared last night. From what he looked like this morning, I'm betting he was trying to set a new record for drunken hook-ups. Allura, where are you going?"

She took a deep breath, swallowing the hurt she hadn't expected to well up in her chest, and turned back from the door. "I should really be seeing off some of the guests. Let me know if you need anything."

She wasn't sure but she thought she heard Pidge call through the closing door, "Was it something I said?"


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for the reviews! It's always nice to know people are reading!

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><p>Daniel adjusted course ever so slightly and risked a look behind him. "Uh, not that I'm complaining, but…why are you letting me fly, Lance?"<p>

The senior pilot didn't even open his eyes as his head lolled against the second seat's headrest. "Tired. Hangover. Shut up."

"I just wanted to know…"

"Told you already."

"Yeah, I know, but…"

"Red gets it. Take the hint."

Daniel had to admit that the Red Lion was running more quietly than usual, even if he didn't have the same bond with it that Lance did. Maybe this was just a part of training. He attempted to match his voice to the timbre of the engines. "There was a ball last night, wasn't there?"

"Yeah, hence the hangover. If you don't shut up, you have to go to the next one."

He wasn't sure why this constituted a threat. "Just asking. Larmina keeps telling me and Vince that we're better off watching movies or playing video games, but…"

"Larmina's a smart girl. You should listen to her. Did I mention shutting up?"

Daniel was inclined to do just that, but his curiosity got the best of him. "Is it really that bad? I mean, I've seen the kitchens when they're getting ready for a ball."

"Food's just as good on any other day."

"Could we drink?"

"You have to just get through it." Lance sighed heavily. "Formal dances, alien princesses…you don't know the half of it."

"The half you're describing doesn't sound that horrible."

"Come to the next one if you really think so. But you can't bail after the first half hour of mindless torture. And remember not to get too drunk or you might end up making out with Larmina."

Daniel increased their speed as a rush of excitement ran through him. "That could be…"

"Awkward."

"I was actually thinking…"

"Yeah, don't think too hard about it. Use the big head while flying. We're about to pass through some rough stuff."

"I don't see anything on the…" He tightened his grip on the controls as Red started to shake. "How did you…?"

"I'm not _that_ hung over. Should be okay in a minute or two."

Daniel wasn't so sure. "Lance, it's really pulling to…"

"So compensate with starboard thrusters. Haven't you been paying attention at all the past few months?"

"Yeah, but…" he trailed off, slightly annoyed when Lance's advice immediately steadied them. "What was that?"

"Minor space disturbance."

"Is that the scientific description?"

"Oh, sorry, _Vince_. Didn't realize you were here."

"What's that supposed to…"

"It means you don't have to understand everything. Sometimes you have to trust your instincts, Dan-Man. Like, how far do you think we are from the Faros sector right now?"

"Um, well…" He ran his eyes over the console, trying to pick out a number as quickly as possible. "We left Arus at…"

"No stalling."

"I…I'm just following the course Pidge gave us."

"Exactly."

"Are you saying Pidge didn't plot the most efficient course?"

"No, I'm sure it's optimal. Also, that we've been in the Faros sector for the past twenty minutes or so. What I'm saying is that you aren't paying attention."

"I'm totally…"

"Not noticing the asteroid field up ahead that surrounds the planet. Turn off the sensors." Lance leaned forward to hit a few buttons before sinking back into his chair and closing his eyes again. "Fly by feel. Can't teach it. Just do it."

Daniel blinked at the suddenly black instrument panels. Fighting off a moment of panic, he concentrated on the subtle vibrations coming through his hands. "Um…I think there's a…gravity field?"

"Whole body, not just the controls. Give Red a little free rein."

"I really don't…wait. There's something…2 o'clock."

"Better. But the little ones matter as much as the big ones." He chuckled as something small but noticeable pinged off Red's nose. "Maybe not so much from a Lion, but my point stands. Try not to scratch the paint. We'll be there in another few minutes."

"But Pidge said…"

"Pidge didn't account for Mr. Wanna Go Fast flying the whole way to the Faros sector. Ikaria is just ahead. We should be okay if you put us in a high orbit. Watch the asteroids in the meantime."

"Right. Flying by feel." Daniel found it hard to focus with Lance grunting a few seconds before each minor hit, but he felt he was starting to get the hang of it by the time they had passed through the field. "All right. I'm putting us into high orbit of Ikaria." He looked over his shoulder and saw that Lance still had his eyes closed. He turned the external sensors back on. "I think we're directly over the signal Pidge mentioned."

"Good. Start running scans."

"Lance, there's something else. Something coming toward us from the surface."

"Pidge said there's a lot of volcanic activity here."

Daniel had seen enough lasers at this point to know there was about to be a big problem. "Um, Lance? I don't think that's a volcano."

* * *

><p>Lance cursed his overactive imagination as he yanked Daniel from the pilot's seat. There were better times to think about Allura naked than while on a covert reconnaissance mission to an unknown Wade base on a volcano-ridden planet in the middle of nowhere. Like on the beach – he'd missed bikini-time during their last visit, so naked seemed like a fair compromise. Or if the water in Lake Arus was too cold, his shower was a good alternative. Or her bathtub. Oh yeah. Allura's bathroom made his look like it belonged in a highway gas station. He could almost feel her wet hair thick between his fingers as he…<p>

_Blue's pilot has strong haunches._

"Shut up!"

Daniel was barely audible in the cacophony of information from Red Lance was feeling in his head as he dodged and dove, "I didn't say anything!"

"Not you!"

_Just trying to help. Blue is not averse to your mating with her pilot. _

"Well, quit it." This was just what he needed – impossible romantic advice from a nosy mechanical lion while being shot at. "Watch the lasers. And stop gossiping."

Daniel sounded worried and suspicious. "Lance, are you…?"

He banked sharply behind a rocky outcrop. "Relax. Red needs to work on small talk like you need to work on flying." The barrage stopped the moment they landed in a canyon just to the south of the source of fire. "Okay, so I'm hoping automated defenses here."

_They sting._

"Yeah, sorry about that." Lance gritted his teeth and pressed a button on his Voltcom. "Pidge, do you have my location? Or a reason we just got a free laser show?"

There was a hiss on the link, but it went through. "Lance, I've got you. Sorry about the lack of warning, but there was no way to know."

"Yeah, well, can we get what we need without making ourselves a target again?"

"You're close enough to the signal. Run a full EM scan for me."

He hit a button on Red's panel, more for show than anything else. Red had started scanning the area before they'd touched down. "Done."

"Okay, I'm receiving your data…give me a minute. This analysis is complicated." There was a crackling pause over the open channel. "Hey, did something happen with you and Allura last night at the ball?"

"What? Why? Did she say something?"

"No, I just…oh, that's not good."

It was an odd feeling, but suddenly nothing happening outside or Red was communicating mattered all that much. "What did she say, Pidge?"

"Lance, get clear of the planet right now."

That didn't sound like a good thing. Allura wanted him off Arus? "What?"

"I think your presence triggered some kind of…reaction. The power source inside the base is going critical. Leave now! Get out of…"

Right, bigger problems. "Daniel, gimme a turbo boost." Red was just hitting escape velocity when Lance sensed the shockwave of an explosion coming. "Hang on, we're not outrunning this." The last thing he saw was the asteroid field rushing toward him as he lost control of Red.


	4. Chapter 4

Keith shook his head as Larmina put Vince on the ground yet again. "Balance, Vince. She's going to keep knocking you down if you don't…"

"No offense Keith, but she's going to keep knocking me down unless I get to start fighting her with a Lion." Vince rubbed his neck with a grimace as he stood with a hand from Larmina. "Could we maybe take a break?"

"Yeah, my arm is getting sore from helping Vince up," Larmina added.

"All right. Ten minute break. Get some water and be back here ready to…"

A beep from his Voltcom interrupted him. "Keith! We've got a problem. I need you in the Control Room right now."

"On my way, Pidge." He sprinted through the door, aware that the cadets were on his heels. It was hard not to be a little proud. "What's the…" He paused in the doorway, both cadets bumping into his back.

Allura was already in the Control Room, leaning over Pidge as he typed frantically. Keith focused his attention from the distracting rear view to what she was saying with a note of panic in her voice, "How can there be no signal? Where are they?"

"There's too much interference from the explosion to get a clear signal. I can't get even get a clear read on Red Lion's tracking beacon. We may just have to give it a few minutes."

"What if they can't wait that long? What if they need us?"

"Then we'll be there." Keith settled a hand on her shoulder, but she didn't even turn to look at him. He asked, "What's the situation?"

Pidge's fingers never stopped flying over the keys as he said, "The base Lance and Daniel were investigating had some kind of automatic self-destruct that blew up the planet shortly after they arrived."

Hunk was suddenly standing on Keith's other side and he realized that he still had his hand on Allura's shoulder. Hunk didn't seem to notice him quickly pull it off, as he was squinting at one of the video displays. "Did you just say a _planet_ blew up?"

Pidge frowned. "It was small and uninhabited, most likely due to the volcanic activity. That's probably why Wade picked it, too. I have no idea what he could have been developing that could have produced that kind of blast."

"What about Lance and Daniel?"

"I'm working on it."

Keith decided to take matters into his own hands, shouting into his Voltcom. "Lance? Lance, do you read me?" When nothing but static came in reply, he nodded emphatically. "Right. Pidge, send their last coordinates to Black and Yellow. How long will it take me to get there?"

"Don't you mean _us_?"

He had to stop himself from smiling when he turned to confront Allura. He found it hard to argue with her when she put on her 'queen face,' as Lance called it. It was really a whole aura that she seemed to be able to turn on at will. Her chin jutted out ever so slightly and her eyes shone. She even seemed taller. Of course she would want to be there for her teammates, but if something had gone seriously wrong…Keith didn't want to see a different shine in her eyes. No. He refused to let himself think the worst. Besides, it was _Lance_ – luck was practically part of his genetic makeup. Like Pidge had said, it was just a matter of interference. Keith straightened his shoulders. No matter what her title, he was the commander of the Voltron Force. "Hunk and I will go, Princess. We shouldn't leave Arus unprotected before all the ball guests have left. If Doom attacks and no one is here to defend…"

"Fine, Hunk can stay. I'm coming with you to…"

"No. Only Hunk and I are going. You, Pidge and the cadets will remain here to…"

"Keith, I won't just sit here while…"

The comms suddenly crackled to life. "Pidge? Pidge! Where the hell are you?"

Allura was the first to respond, "Lance! Lance, are you okay?"

"Little banged up, but otherwise fine. So's Daniel. Red conked out on me for a minute when the blast hit and I had to reboot. We're holed up in a cave on one of the bigger asteroids in the field near Ikaria. Does anyone have some idea what's happening out there?"

"It's tough to get anything concrete right now." Pidge seemed to be typing faster than ever. "It's going to take time to sift through all these readings. It might be safer if you stay where you are until we have a better idea of what's happening. There's a ton of debris out there and I still have no idea what could have caused the entire planet to explode."

"The whole planet exploded? Well, that explains a lot." The channel was still jumbled, but Lance's sarcasm came through loud and clear. "So we should just hang out? And here I forgot to pack my deck of cards."

"I'll keep you updated."

"Yeah, that's…" The channel suddenly cut out.

"Lance? Lance?" Allura again sounded almost panicked.

"It's okay, Princess. Just more interference from the explosion." Pidge struck a few keys before finally taking a break. "It looks like communication is going to be spotty for a while, but I have a clear lock on Red's tracking beacon. We'll have a pretty good idea of what's going on with them."

Keith folded his arms, feeling much better about the situation. "Should we rendezvous with them in Black and Yellow?"

"Not if they can make it out on their own. I think it might be best to stay out of the Faros sector for a while, at least until I've had a chance to analyze all the data. There was something strange about that explosion."

"All right." He turned to Hunk. "Be ready to launch once Pidge gives us the all clear or if we hear anything serious from Lance. Cadets, I think your break is over."

He tried to follow a grumbling Vince and Larmina, but his path was blocked. Allura was getting a lot of use out of her queen-face this morning. "I'm sorry, did you just say we're going to wait and see what happens rather than mounting a rescue mission right now?"

"You heard Lance. They don't need to be rescued."

"Well, I think the fact that he's keeping Red in a cave rather than speeding through the wreckage of a planet like it's a fun new obstacle course means the situation is pretty serious. Just because he isn't saying it doesn't mean he doesn't need us."

Keith found her logic hard to debate, but "Princess, if we go in before we have all the information, we could put the whole team at risk. Give Pidge time to figure out what caused the explosion."

"Can't we find a point closer to the Faros sector where we can wait? That way we'll be able to get there faster once we know it's safe to go in?"

"We have no idea how long it's going to take for…"

"Whoa."

Keith was thankful for the interruption, as he felt he was losing ground in his argument with Allura. "Something you'd like to share with the rest of us, Pidge?"

"What? Oh, sorry. It's just that I think I know why the bang was so big. According to these readings, the reactor inside the base was ardillium-based. There are strict regulations on the amount of ardillium that can be used in any power source and this one surpassed them by at least an order of magnitude. I didn't even realize this much ardillium existed in one place outside the Qirillian singularity."

Allura looked as if she'd received a small electric shock. "Did you say Qirillian?"

"They're a minor empire that just recently entered the Galaxy Alliance. Is there something important about it?"

"No, no. It's just…the Qirillian royal family was here for the ball. It was the first time I'd even heard of them. But it's just a coincidence." She shook her head in a way that told Keith she didn't believe it.

He decided to ask her about it later. "What about this ardillium? Is it dangerous?"

"It's highly reactive." Pidge called up a graph on the holoscreen. "It produces energy like almost nothing else in the galaxy, but it can only be used in small quantities because it's so hard to control. The explosion not only destroyed the planet, but released a lot of gamma radiation. Red's specialized shielding should be enough to protect Lance and Daniel for a short time, but I don't think the rest of our Lions would have enough shielding to keep out that much radiation."

Keith couldn't help but feel justified in his caution. "And that, Princess, is why we won't be flying into the Faros sector."

"Pidge would have been able to warn us long before we got there." She narrowed her eyes at him before turning away. "Pidge, you said Red's shielding would protect them for a short time? How long, exactly?"

"Several hours. The next time a communications channel opens, I'll let them know they need to get out as soon as it's safe enough to fly through the debris field. And Red will have to go through decontamination before landing on Arus."

"I'll get the scrubber ship ready!" Hunk proclaimed. "Vince, Larmina! It's not a Lion, but you should still know how to fly it." The cadets followed him out of the Control Room before Keith could tell them hand-to-hand would continue once they got back.

Allura had taken a seat beside Pidge. "How long until we can reestablish comms?"

"I'm trying to find a band that can cut through the radiation with minimal distortion. It could take a few minutes."

"Keep me updated." She suddenly stood and ran from the room.

"Same here," Keith shouted to a disconcerted Pidge as he followed her out of the Control Room. "Allura?" He saw a flash of blonde hair rounding a corner. "Allura, wait." She seemed to be heading in the direction of her room, so he took a shortcut. He stepped out in front of her just before she reached the staircase. "Allura, are you okay?"

"Fine. I'm fine." She finally looked up at him. It was heartbreaking. "I just…there was something I needed to talk to Lance about but I didn't see him before he left this morning and then I was angry at him and when I thought…oh, Keith." She suddenly wrapped her arms around his shoulders. After a moment's hesitation, he returned the hug. "What if something had happened and I never…" She buried her face in his shoulder.

He waited a moment for her to continue before saying, "Lance is fine. So is Daniel."

"I know. I just…" She abruptly pulled back and he noted that her eyes were shining in the way he'd feared. If a tear dropped, he was fairly certain he would brush it away and then…this was not the moment for those thoughts. She blinked and her eyes seemed to clear. "I'm sorry. The thought of losing any of you, especially after…everything was supposed to be better, you know?"

"It will be." He gently pulled her into another hug; she didn't resist. "We've taken care of Wade and we'll find all his bases. In spite of what happened today, he's not a threat anymore. And we'll defeat Lotor and Doom again. Besides, you'd get bored sitting on a throne all day."

"I don't even have a throne."

"You know what I mean." He smiled at her as he stepped back. "Arus is rebuilding, Voltron is back. There's nothing to worry about."

"As long as Red Lion comes back safe."

"I've known Lance for a long time. Nothing will prevent him from completing the mission."

"I know. Sometimes I wonder which one of you is more stubborn."

"I think you could give us both some healthy competition there." That finally got a smile from her. "Want to head back to the Control Room?"

"Yes. Gods, what must Pidge think of me right now?"

"You could tell him you really had to use the bathroom." Her laugh was like music to his ears. They had almost reached the door of the Control Room when he remembered something that had bothered him – something not about how concerned she was about Lance. "By the way, you mentioned that the Qirillians were here. Was there something about them that bothered you?"

"Other than their overly obsequious prince? Not…not really. I'm sure it's just a coincidence."

"No you're not."

"Okay, but…even if they are the only source of this ardillium, it doesn't mean they were working with Wade. And even if they were, he could have been blackmailing them somehow. I mean, look what he did to Ebb."

Keith had to concede that it was entirely possible. "Still we should be careful around them."

"Agreed. Let's see if Pidge has been able to get back in touch with Lance yet."

Keith noticed that her smile when she saw that Pidge had established a video link to Red Lion was different than the ones she had given him. She was probably just happy to see Lance safe.


	5. Chapter 5

Using one of Red's more reflective instrument panels, Lance finished cleaning the blood from the cut on his forehead before placing a bandage over it. There had been time when he was much fussier about treatment of facial injuries, but he had found that most women were intrigued by a well-placed scar. Of course, a few more like this and he would have to rethink that strategy. He continued to wipe at a spot that he couldn't be sure was bloodstain or bruise in the distorted likeness.

_Handsome. But need to groom your mane._

"Quit it," he muttered, still self-consciously running a hand through his hair. It was sticky with blood in a spot he hadn't noticed before. He didn't even bother trying to determine how bad the cut was, though the mat it was forming of his hair was a bad sign. He was really just killing time until Pidge got back to him about the situation outside the cave. From the less frequent flashes of bright light, Lance hoped it was improving. He was going to have to get out of here sooner rather than later anyway. He'd downplayed the seriousness of the situation when he'd gotten through to the team earlier.

He turned to say over his shoulder, "Daniel, you done inventorying our supplies?"

"This is cruel and unusual punishment!" came the reply from the floor behind the second seat in the cockpit. "It's bad enough I can't use a chair, but how many times are you going to make me count the rations?"

"Should have thought of that before you broke your leg, Dan-Man. I _did_ tell you to hang on." Lance climbed over his pilot's chair so he could see the injured cadet. Daniel did look pathetic with his left leg tied in a crude splint and bloodied bandage. The kid had been tough as nails when Lance had unskillfully set the fracture, a jagged break that had pierced through the skin. Red didn't have an extensive first aid kit and Lance had already given him most of the available painkillers, plus a task to distract him. "Think of it this way – you can spend the time you're recovering watching Larmina whale on Vince in hand-to-hand."

"Yeah, that's…" He groaned as the asteroid suddenly shifted, jostling his injured leg.

"Hey, try not to move."

"Are you talking to me or Red?"

_Doing my best._

"I know," Lance replied. "Daniel, I'm gonna try to get through to Pidge again. We need to get you back to Arus."

"I can suck it up."

_Strong cub._

"Don't I know it." Lance dropped back into his seat and started tapping buttons on his Voltcom before switching to the vidscreen. It hadn't been working quite right since he'd put his fist through Wade's face, though Pidge claimed it was fully operational. Lance suspected Red was keeping it glitchy out of spite. He was going to give it a little more time before asking if that was the case; he'd already apologized twice.

For once the screen really did seem to work correctly as a fuzzy image eventually resolved into Pidge's face. "'Bout time. Can I fly out of here yet?"

"Yeah, about that, Lance…I don't know if it's really safe to be out in that debris field, but you've only got a few hours until Red Lion can't protect you from the radiation."

"Say what now?"

"A massive burst of gamma radiation was released when the explosion occurred. Red's shielding is capable of withstanding it, but not for prolonged periods. I estimate you need to be out of the blast radius within the next three hours."

"So what's the problem? I take off, I fly out. How far am I from the edge of this? A few minutes?"

"Ten in a straight line, which won't be the case with the combination of planetary debris and asteroids. Besides, it's not that simple. If you take too many hits, you could damage the protective shielding and end up with a dangerous dose of radiation anyway."

"So it's stay here and get slowly irradiated or go out there and get a flash dose? I'm thinking third option."

"Which is?"

"Fly like hell and don't get the crap bashed out of us. I'm getting Daniel secured, then lifting off."

Allura's face suddenly replaced Pidge's on the screen, her bright smile rapidly changing to an expression of concern. "Lance! You're hurt!"

"It's nothing." He somehow felt better knowing that she didn't hate him after last night. Or that she was happy he wasn't dead, at least. "I'm more worried about Daniel. He's hanging in there, but he's got a pretty bad broken leg and I'm almost out of pain meds for him. He needs attention from someone more qualified than Dr. Lance and Nurse Red."

_Chief of Laser Surgery Red._

He rolled his eyes and hoped Allura didn't think it was directed at her. She was looking at him curiously. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Fine. I need to secure Daniel for takeoff, but…could you stay on? Just so I know we haven't lost the connection, I mean."

"Of course." He turned the screen slightly so he could still see her as he stood to take care of Daniel. "I'd ask if you're worried about flying through the debris, but I'm guessing you're excited about it."

"I would be if it were just me, but I've got a cranky cadet here who won't appreciate the master class in flying."

Daniel made a face at him as Lance tightened a strap over his uninjured leg. "Maybe I'd be in a position to if I weren't being tied down like cargo."

"Are you doing all right, Daniel?"

"I've been better, Princess. Any chance of getting some pizza delivered from Earth?"

She laughed. "I think that can be arranged. Any other special requests?"

Lance interrupted before Daniel could get himself into trouble. "Don't abuse the royal treatment, kiddo. And don't get used to it either. I don't even get special meals when I'm stuck in the infirmary anymore."

"When was the last time they put up with you overnight in the infirmary?"

He took a moment to appreciate her smirk as he sat in his pilot's chair again. "Good point. Okay, let me just run a few checks and Red should be ready to go."

"Pidge is concerned about radiation."

"Yeah, the readings outside are high, but Red's holding up well."

"I don't know that much about radiation sickness. Do you feel nauseous at all?"

"Yeah, but I've felt that way since I got up."

"You shouldn't have had so much to drink at the ball."

He met her eyes when she mentioned the ball. "Yeah."

She looked away first, but only for a moment. "Lance…I…I wanted to talk to you this morning, but you'd already left."

"Really?"

"We'll talk when you get back."

"Yeah, I…" He had the impression deep in his abdomen that 'talk' was code 'talk and continuation of interrupted things.' He was definitely eager for resuming interrupted things. If that was what she meant and he wasn't reading too deeply into her concern or imagining a twinkle in her eye that was…definitely there. "I'm taking off now." It was strange, but he felt like he'd been floating even before Red had lifted off the floor of the cave.

She smiled. "I should probably sign off. Don't want to distract you while you're flying through that area."

"Um…sure, but let's keep audio open." The screen changed to a radar scan of surrounding space that was moving a lot faster than normal. He paused at the mouth of the cave to get an idea of what the flying would be like. It was going to be hairy. He hoped he'd strapped Daniel down tightly enough. "Pidge, you there?"

"Yeah, it actually looks like you're drifting into a slightly less dense area of debris, so I guess…"

"No time like the present." Lance kicked in Red's thrusters and left the safety of their asteroid. He ignored whatever Pidge was saying as he concentrated on avoiding the larger fragments, a constant shower of smaller ones pinging off the outer hull. The heat in the cockpit had increased noticeably. "Red, don't skimp on the air conditioning."

_Think you're hot? My volcano is cooler._

"I'll assume that's an assessment of actual temperature out there as opposed to a comment on my…whoa, close one."

Pidge's voice sounded tense as he said, "Lance, I know you're close to overheating, but don't redirect any power from maintaining structural integrity until you're through the radiation."

"How much further?"

"You're…about halfway through. You're making really good time."

"It's what I do. Doing okay back there, Dan-Man?"

"Having a blast."

"Good because…shit, hang on tight." Lance put Red into a sharp dive to avoid a giant chunk of Ikaria hurtling toward them, only to have to bank sharply when another appeared. This was turning out to be a lot less fun than he had anticipated. He put Red into a spin to evade a few more death-rocks and broke for an empty-looking area dead ahead.

"Don't be a showoff."

Lance shook his head when he heard Keith's voice. "Nice of you to join us."

"I've been here the whole time. You look like you're drunk stunt pilot."

"I'm not drunk. That was last night." Lance nearly froze, only keeping his head because there were still asteroids and debris coming at it at breakneck speeds. Had Keith been standing there while he'd been talking with Allura? Did it even matter? It's not like he'd said anything stupid. Keith would want to know why Allura needed to talk with him, though. Damn it, why hadn't he thought about Keith before? Yeah, because who gives a shit what your commander thinks when you're kissing the hottest woman in the galaxy, who said commander might also have a thing for. Not that Keith had ever come out and said it, but…come on. This was going to get awkward if Lance couldn't convince himself it wasn't more than a 'thing.'

Red gave a roar as they blasted through the last of the asteroids. "Oh, yeah! We're clear! Just how long did you say that was supposed to take, Pidge?"

The video link reengaged to reveal Keith. "It would have been more impressive if you'd outrun the initial blast. But nice flying, anyway. Red needs to be decontaminated before you come back to Arus. Hunk is flying out to meet you with a scrubber ship. Pidge'll send you the coordinates."

"Uh, how long will that take?"

Pidge replaced Keith on the screen. "Just a few hours or so. Hunk is set to meet you about halfway between your position and Arus."

"I really think Daniel needs to see a doctor before then, right cadet?" Lance turned around, straining his neck to get a clear view. Daniel's head was tipped back, his mouth hanging open. Lance jumped over his pilot's chair and the second seat, narrowly avoiding landing on Daniel's injured leg. His breathing was shallow, but his pulse was strong.

Keith's voice was back in the cockpit. "Lance, what's going on?"

"Yeah, kid's passed out. I'm thinking that's not a good thing. Do we need to go through decontamination too, or can someone come pick him up and get him to the infirmary while Red's being cleaned?"

The click of Pidge's typing was clearly coming through over the channel now. "It looks like the radiation didn't penetrate Red's shielding, so you should be fine. We'll want to run some quick scans before anyone comes into contact with you to make sure, but…" There was a sound of scuffling in the background and Keith shouting Allura's name. "Apparently Allura has decided to come for Daniel in the Blue Lion. Make sure she doesn't…"

"Yeah, yeah. No contact until we're sure we don't glow in the dark." After a final check on Daniel, he set a course for the rendezvous point and cranked Red's engines to maximum. "I'll get to Hunk and the decontamination ship as fast as I can. Lance out."

_Bath?_

Lance thought back to his fantasy from earlier in the day; it felt like it had been forever since he had pictured himself with Allura in her bathtub. "I'm not going there until I'm sure I won't poison her with…oh, you mean you. Yeah. Something like that."

_Blue is coming for you._

"Actually, she's coming for Daniel."

Red's response was a growly purr. In spite of the situation, Lance found himself wondering if he could get Allura to make a similar sound. He was in so much trouble.


	6. Chapter 6

Allura ignored Keith's reprimands via Voltcom about chain of command and following orders as Blue blasted out of Arus' atmosphere. She had hesitated once already today and if she hadn't she could be meeting Lance right now to get Daniel and bring him back to the infirmary. Keith was probably just annoyed that he hadn't gotten to Black's chute first. Like it was so terrible that he couldn't be the hero for once.

She could feel Blue's disapproval through a sudden shudder of the controls. She knew intellectually that she was being unfair, but completely losing Red's signal had felt like a punch to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her more effectively than any blow. For several terrifying minutes, she had feared that one of the best nights of her life was about to be followed by one of the worst mornings.

And it had been a single kiss. It hadn't even been her first kiss, but it had been the first to make her feel as if she needed more. It was so much more than the mere curiosity provoked by the others, all princes or kings seeking a favorable marriage, any emotions coming secondarily. With Lance…she just needed to see him, touch him – find out if it had been the champagne or something more. She desperately wanted it to be more. Whatever more actually was.

Keith continued to lecture her over the comms, but she turned down the volume rather than disconnect completely. She had disrespected him enough for one day. He _was_ the commander of the Voltron Force. She allowed Blue a freer head as she let her mind drift. Would kissing Keith be anything like kissing Lance? Would the raw physical and emotional _need_ be the same? There had been a time before Wade had outlawed Voltron – long before, if she were completely honest with herself – that she couldn't have envisioned a more perfect prince than Keith. She could only imagine how different her life would be at this moment if he had been a prince. She would have married him without a second thought.

Then what would have happened when she kissed Lance? Or if. No, Lance would never have allowed it to happen if she had been with Keith. Then there would never have been a kiss and she may never have felt complete for a few blessed moments only to be destroyed at the mere thought of losing him and…and…if only she had been able to talk to him before he had left! Talk to him and inhale his scent and maybe feel his lips against hers again…

Blue gave a small jump, startling her. She opened her eyes just in time to see a blurred Arusian cargo ship in the viewport as she streaked past. She suddenly remembered that she had turned down the volume on her communications channels.

"Hey, Allura! Can ya hear me? Slow down! This tub isn't a Lion!"

She blinked at Hunk's face when it appeared on the vidscreen. How on Arus had she caught them already? "Hunk. Are we close to the rendezvous point?"

Lance's jaw was set resolutely when his bandaged image came up on the split screen. His voice ran through her like an electric current. "I'm coming up on you fast. How long is it going to take to scan us?"

Vince joined the conversation, "No more than five minutes if you didn't pick up any residual radiation. How's Daniel?"

"Let's just say I'm glad it's five minutes and not an hour." Red Lion was suddenly visible, a speck of ruby light getting larger by the moment. "Hunk, prepare for docking. You guys won't be picking up any radiation from Red, will you?"

"Nah, wouldn't make much sense to have a radiation decontamination ship that wasn't shielded from radiation. Airlocks are prepped on the starboard for you, Lance. Allura, Blue can hook up on the port side. Should be safe from radiation with the scrubber ship between you."

Allura waited until Red was secured before initiating her own docking procedures. She rushed from Blue across the cavernous cargo bay, ignoring the salutes of the crew, to a small, bright white area. Larmina was standing close to the plastic shielding, looking unusually pale. Hunk had his arm around her shoulders as Vince and an Arusian technician ran scans from a pedestal a short way away. A woman in a nurse's uniform was standing close to the doorway of the isolation room, watching the red light over it intently with her hand on the entry button. Allura was about to speak when she caught sight of the scene inside.

Daniel looked very small on the gurney where he was lying, unmoving and unconscious. His left leg sat at an unnatural angle in spite of the splint wrapped around it. And Lance…his bloodied face, head and hands would have been so much easier to take if not for the expression on his face. He looked sick with guilt as he stood over Daniel, gripping his wrist as if he were taking a pulse, but seemed a poor substitute for holding the boy's hand.

He wasn't still, shifting back and forth. Although there was no intercom to the room, she could almost hear him saying, "Come on, come on…"

Vince suddenly announced, "They're clear!" prompting the nurse to rush into the room the moment the light over the door changed to green and start hooking Daniel to monitors. Larmina and Vince were close on her heels. Lance actually stepped back to allow the cadets through, though his attention remained focused on Daniel.

Allura paused for a moment before approaching him. She stood at his shoulder, making light contact against his arm with hers. "Are you okay?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the one…" He gestured toward Daniel before turning away.

"It's not your fault."

"Feels that way."

"Only because you have head trauma."

"I'm okay." He grimaced as she touched a spot on the back of his head, still not looking at her. "Or I will be after a couple of stitches."

"Lance, I…" She wanted to pull him into her arms, comfort him, comfort herself with his closeness.

He pushed her hand off his neck, where it had drifted as a prelude to an embrace. "Not now. Not until we know he's…"

The nurse suddenly cried out, "All right, we can move him!"

A flurry of action followed, concluding in Hunk and Lance lifting the gurney and carrying it into Blue's cockpit, Larmina, Vince and the nurse crowding in after them. Allura tried to smile as Hunk dragged the cadets back out. "Not enough room, guys, unless one of you went to medical school."

She caught Lance's arm in the airlock as he tried pass her to exit to the cargo ship. "Aren't you coming with me?"

His glance drifted across the bay to the area where the Arusian crew members were preparing their decontamination equipment. "No, I can wait. I'll need to fly Red back."

"Lance, you're injured. Vince and Larmina can handle…"

"Did you see them? Vince and Larmina couldn't handle a fork right now."

"Then Hunk…the crew can fly the scrubber back to Arus."

He finally met her eyes and she was taken aback by the fire burning in his. "Allura, just stop. This isn't the time for…every second we spend arguing is time Daniel isn't getting the medical attention he needs. No offense to the nurse."

She hated how right he was. Giving in, she leaned up to press her lips against his, if only for a moment. "I'll be waiting for you."

"I know. Get out of here before I steal your chair and fly Blue home myself."

She nodded and boarded Blue, not looking back for fear that Lance wouldn't be looking back either. Confronted by Daniel on his gurney secured in her cockpit, she reproached herself for her selfishness. There were more important things than her feelings at the moment.

Blue disconnected from the scrubber ship with a pop and Allura set out at maximum speed for Arus.

* * *

><p>Hunk was running out of distractions for Vince and Larmina. They didn't care about the process of decontaminating Red and they weren't interested in learning more about piloting the specialized Arusian cargo ship. They'd only picked at the lunch he'd whipped up, in spite of that fact that he'd thought it was pretty impressive for what he had to work with in the scrubber ship's small galley. Hunk hadn't felt much like eating himself, but he'd tried to set a good example. The regular crew had appreciated lunch, at least.<p>

Lance had been no help at all, standing at a viewport in the cargo bay, arms folded as he watched the progress of Red's cleaning. Hunk was starting to get concerned about Lance's silence. He knew he would never be accused of being the most perceptive man, but even he knew there was a problem when Lance wasn't talking. If there was nothing he could do to improve Vince and Larmina's moods, maybe he had a better chance with an old buddy.

He strode over and stood beside Lance. "So. How's it going?"

"They're about two-thirds of the way done."

"Red's probably having a good time. I know Yellow likes a scratch behind the ears every so often."

"Yeah."

Hunk rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet for a moment. This was more challenging than he'd thought. "So, uh, whole planet exploded, huh? Musta been something to see."

"I wasn't really looking."

"Right. Flying for your life at the time."

"Yeah."

"Uh, I heard you did some pretty cool flying, though."

"Hunk, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but…can you just leave me alone?"

"Oh. Right." Hunk hung his head. "Guess I'll go see if they need anything on the bridge."

He had made it only a few steps away when he felt a slap on his shoulder. Lance was looking down at his feet, but Hunk could see that his eyes were slightly cloudy. "Look, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Heavy stuff goin' on. But it'll be all right."

"Seriously, thank you, man."

Hunk started to feel a little self-conscious. "You're gonna feel better when you get back to Arus and Daniel's up and complaining about how he's not gonna be able to fly for a couple weeks."

"Yeah." Lance smiled weakly.

"You, uh, okay with flying the cadets back in Red? I mean, they're pretty eager to find out how Daniel's doin'…"

"No problem. I'm gonna go see how the decontamination's coming."

"Want me to go make sure Vince and Larmina are ready to go?"

"I wouldn't worry about it. They've been watching from the other porthole since you let them out of the galley." Lance actually smiled for real. "By the way, where's my bean and Arusian goat-sheep cheese burrito?"

"Crew finished 'em off. And it's called a chorple. I always thought they looked more like fluffy giant guinea pigs with horns."

"I could see that. Looks like they're coming in. Must be done cleaning Red."

"Good." Hunk clapped Lance on the shoulder. "See you back on Arus. Tell Daniel I heard he wants pizza and I'll make the trip to Pizza Hole myself."

"Sure. And thanks again."

"No problem. Just…try to stay positive. Y'know, for the cadets." Hunk gestured with his head toward Vince and Larmina, who had just seemed to realized the decontamination team was finished.

"I know who the cadets are, big guy."

Hunk grinned as Vince and Larmina rushed toward the airlock to board Red after Lance. Confident that their trip back would be all right, he decided to head back to the galley. There could be just enough beans and chorple cheese left for another burrito.


	7. Chapter 7

Keith's annoyance with Allura faded as he watched her rush from Blue's open mouth and demand help bringing Daniel to the infirmary. Two orderlies had been standing by to do just that, in accordance with the instructions she'd transmitted multiple times during her trip back from the rendezvous point. She had sounded just worried enough about Daniel during those communications that Keith had decided to hold his tongue until he saw her in person. And now the two orderlies were carrying a gurney out of the Lion, causing instant amnesia regarding Allura's insubordination.

Keith rushed to Daniel's side, trying to stay out of the way of the nurse who had disembarked with him. "What's the situation?"

The nurse didn't look up from the monitor she on which she was pressing buttons as she rushed along beside the gurney. "Compound fracture of both the tibia and fibula, shock, significant blood loss, possible internal injuries, move!" She gave Keith a push out of the elevator so the doors could close.

He called, "You stay with us, cadet. We need you."

It may have been Keith's imagination, but Daniel seemed to nod in response. Perhaps it was just a jolt as the elevator began to move. He caught himself watching them ascend through the glass before realizing that Allura was already halfway up the stairs. He finally overtook her in the hallway outside the castle infirmary, where Daniel had arrived moments earlier. The medical team wasted no time wheeling him through the waiting area and examination suites into the operating room, leaving a stern orderly to stop Keith and Allura from following. "I'm sorry, Princess, but only the surgical team is allowed in back. Have to keep it sterile."

"How long before we know how Daniel is?"

"I'm sure the doctor will update you as soon as possible, but for now…you're welcome to wait in here." He gestured them through to a darkened room with deep, plush sofas and chairs. It was far more comfortable than the outer room because it was designed for longer waits. Keith hated this room. Fortunately, the occasions he'd been forced to sit in it were few and far between. The first time had been Sven and the last…he always hoped the current wait would be the last. Sinking into one of the chairs, he resigned himself to grudging patience.

Allura paced for a few minutes before sitting on the edge of the coffee table in front of him. "How can you always be so calm? I feel like jumping out of my skin."

"Think of it like a battle. It doesn't help anyone if you lose control." He leaned forward and patted her knee. "I hate to say it, but it's just something you have to force yourself to get used to. It's one of the reasons Lance didn't say Daniel was this bad."

To his surprise, she pulled back as if she were insulted. "Lance is worried enough. Don't you go making him feel worse when he gets here."

"Which should be in about 30 minutes or so," Pidge said, appearing in the doorway. "He's en route in Red with Vince and Larmina. They'd like an update if we know what's happening."

Allura shook her head. "We haven't heard anything since they went into the OR with…Dr. Gorma!" The doctor had a calming presence that immediately reassured Keith things were going to work out.

Ten minutes of explanations later, Keith could see that Allura and Pidge were also feeling much better about Daniel's condition. They had had an orthopedic surgeon standing by based on the information they had from Lance and the nurse who had come back from the decontamination ship and luckily she had been the only specialist needed. Daniel had no serious injuries other than his leg, which was being repaired by a woman who, Dr. Gorma assured them, was the best orthopedic surgeon not only on Arus but in the entire sector.

As Dr. Gorma was exiting, Larmina charged into the waiting room with Vince close behind her. "How's Daniel?"

Keith pushed himself out of his chair. "He's in surgery right now. How did you get here so fast?"

"Surgery?"

"Don't worry, Larmina." Keith had to admire Allura's calm tone as she wrapped an arm around her niece's shoulders, especially given that she had been the one so anxious shortly before. "Other than his leg, he's fine. They just want to be sure that they fix the fracture as soon as possible so it will heal quickly."

"You're sure?"

"Keith and Pidge were here when the doctor spoke to us. You can ask them."

Larmina set her chin in what Keith could only describe as an attempted imitation of Allura's queen-face. "So he's going to be out of surgery soon? And we can talk to him?"

"The surgery should last another hour or so. Then it's up to his doctors when you can talk to him." She gave Larmina a final squeeze before releasing her. "Where's Lance?"

Vince stepped away from the closed, windowless doors to the surgical suite and back into the waiting room. "Red was really down on power after the explosion and…I don't know. I think he wanted to take Red back to the volcano to make sure recharging went all right."

"Oh." Keith couldn't be sure, but she sounded almost disappointed. Almost as an afterthought, she asked, "And Hunk will be back soon?"

"I guess so. It's cool if we wait here, right?"

"Of course, Vince. Are you two hungry? It's been a long time since breakfast."

"No thanks, Allura. Hunk fed us. And then fed us some more. His burritos are good, but they start to sit kind of heavy in your stomach after the third one."

"I think he may have cried if we hadn't eaten. He kept putting more and more food on our plates." Larmina absently produced and withdrew her staff from her Voltcom. "He was really upset about Daniel."

"I think we all are," Allura said, gently guiding Larmina to a seat on the couch beside Pidge. "But now we know that everything is going to be okay. Why don't one of you contact Hunk and tell him the good news?" While Pidge negotiated with the cadets about who should have that happy task, Keith felt more than heard Allura's voice near his ear. "Keith, can I talk to you?"

He nodded and followed her into the outer waiting room of the castle infirmary. Discussing her actions earlier in the day would be a welcome distraction from waiting for news that Daniel was out of surgery and ready to start asking for special treatment. He waited for the door to close behind him before saying, "Don't think you can give me any excuses for what happened this morning. You disobeyed a direct order and…"

She interrupted, "Keith, what would you do if I asked you to kiss me?"

His immediate thought that she was trying to avoid a chastisement faded from his mind as she stepped closer and stared into his eyes. "I…you…what?"

"There's something I need to know and… I've never felt this way, before. I have nothing to compare it to and I honestly have no idea how to be sure if I'm imagining something or if…I don't even know. So…will you kiss me?"

He blinked several times and considered pinching himself. "Why?"

"I…it's hard to explain."

"It shouldn't be." Her impossibly green eyes pleaded with him as he continued, "It's not that I don't want to, but…"

"You want to?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"Keith…please. For me."

He was fairly certain that she was the one who closed the remaining distance and initiated the contact, but he wasn't entirely sure how his hands ended up in her hair. Her kiss was more confident than he had expected – not that he had spent much time imagining the tentative lips of a virgin princess who had never felt a man's touch… He braced himself internally as he felt her tongue against his lips and resisted, closing his teeth firmly. She pulled back.

"Um…"

She was smiling. "I'm sorry. It turns out I didn't really need that."

The voice the interrupted them sounded laced with acid. "Well, that's good to know."

Allura jerked away from him and made a dash through the infirmary doors. "No! Lance, it's not…"

Keith missed what it wasn't as the doors swished closed behind her. Lance had looked pissed in the moment Keith had seen him. He had no idea what had just happened, but he had the uncomfortable feeling that he had been used. He licked his lips and immediately resented the reminder that Allura tasted like peppermints and sweetened Arusian tea. He knew she kept a ready supply of both in Blue Lion. They were going to have to reassess the rations and first aid supplies in the Lions once they were sure Daniel was out of danger. Damn it. He was thinking about Voltron when he had just been kissed by a beautiful woman he had dreamed about for years. Why wasn't he overjoyed? Maybe because she was more concerned about what Lance would think. He dropped into one of the hard chairs of the outer waiting room. Obviously, the world had been turned upside down without his noticing.

It seemed like forever, but it couldn't have been more than five minutes when Lance stalked back into the infirmary and extended his hand. "Congratulations."

"What?"

"You won." Lance pumped his hand once, twice and released it before he had completely risen to his feet. He was bruised and bloody and looked utterly defeated. "I'm done trying to…it's not even…if you want Allura, you don't have to worry about me. I'm done."

"Lance, I…I don't know what happened. We were sitting here, waiting for more news on Daniel and she…she asked me to kiss her. I had no idea she even felt…"

"Oh, she _asked_ you to!" Lance gave a mirthless bark of laughter. "Of course she did! Because who's gonna turn down that offer? And she still gets to…you know what, have fun with that. I just want to know how Daniel's doing. Is he still in surgery?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. No internal injuries, they're just setting the leg with some kind of internal support. A plate and screws or something like that. It might be another hour or so."

"Vince and Larmina aren't waiting with you?"

"They're with Pidge in the other room. Allura asked me out here to…" Keith didn't state the obvious, as Lance was starting to look somewhat sick. "Lance, what happened with her and you?"

"Just now?" He swallowed noticeably. "We…talked."

"I mean earlier. She kept saying she needed to talk to you and she panicked when we lost your signal this morning. Why?"

"It was nothing. Well, I thought it was something, but, as it turns out, it's nothing."

"Nothing? You're telling me it's nothing when Allura, who…let's face it, Lance. We've been competing for her attention for years. It can't be nothing when she asks me to kiss her then freaks out when you walk in and…"

"It's _nothing_." Lance balled his fists, but remained otherwise motionless. "I'm gonna go sit with Pidge and the cadets."

"Yeah, I'll…"

"Maybe you should go find the princess."

Keith shook his head. "I'd rather wait to find out how Daniel is doing."

Lance gave a terse nod and Keith knew he understood. They walked together into the inner waiting room.


	8. Chapter 8

Allura felt like the worst person on Arus. Possibly in the galaxy. In the space of a few minutes she had damaged two of the most important relationships in her life, all while Daniel was fighting for his. Her decision to kiss Keith had been spontaneous, stupid and not at all thought out. She wanted to blame it on some kind of stress reaction, but she couldn't convince herself of it. From the moment their lips met she had known it wasn't right, that it didn't have the same feeling, the same importance as her kiss with Lance at the ball. Or even their peck on the decontamination ship. And just as she had realized that what she might have with Lance was worth pursuing…she may have destroyed her chance to pursue it.

She couldn't stop replaying their conversation in her head. She had run after him, leaving Keith to wonder what was wrong. She felt badly about kissing Keith for her own selfish purposes, but not as badly as she felt about Lance walking in at that moment. His eyes as he'd stood in the doorway of the infirmary had held such hurt, the cuts and bruises on his face making her feel as if she'd also caused him physical injury with her betrayal. She couldn't deny that was what she'd done. There had been no imaginable option but to follow him and make him understand.

"Lance!" He hadn't responded to her cry, but continued walking purposefully away from her. She'd had to catch up to him, grabbing his shoulder. "Lance, look at me!"

"What for?"

When he had she'd been completely lost for meaningful words beyond, "I'm sorry."

He had rubbed his eyebrow just under a bandage on his forehead and some flakes of dark dried blood fluttered down. "It's funny, because when you told me you'd be waiting before you left the scrubber, I thought you meant more than just ten minutes. I must still be on Earth time."

"Lance, I can't explain why I…I'm not sure myself. I just had to know if it was _you_ and not…it turns out I didn't learn anything I didn't already know, but…that doesn't excuse…"

"You know what, Princess?" He'd shaken his head with a sad, forced smile. "You don't have to make any excuses. I'm not your boyfriend; I'm not your anything. I'm just some dude you kissed at a ball after you had a little bit too much to drink. Hell, if you wanna pretend it was one of those princes – that Ajax or whoever – that would be just fine."

"Lance, I…I…Lance…"

"If you'll excuse me, your highness, I'd like to go see how the kid I nearly killed is doing." And he had walked away.

She had let him. She had stood in the hallway and watched his back blur as tears welled in her eyes. He hadn't turned around once. Then he had rounded a corner and was gone. It had felt so awful, so…final.

Now she was on autopilot, allowing her feet to take her wherever they felt like going. It wasn't much of a surprise when she looked up and found herself in the catacombs, following the well-worn path to her father's tomb. He was already present, waiting for her when she arrived.

"Father, I…" She broke down sobbing, sinking to the floor. She couldn't imagine that ordinary people, growing up outside her extremely restricted social circle, got themselves in this much of a state over things like kisses. There was no way something so simple could really be that important in the grand scheme of life, the universe and everything. Except that it was. It had felt like the beginning of a whole new realm of possibilities. "I think I love him, but…I've never felt anything like this before. How can I be sure?"

"Because your heart is broken, my child." She wished the ephemeral hand he laid on her shoulder held some warm, solid comfort. "But you are not the only one."

"I don't know how to fix it. I don't even know why I ruined it in the first place."

"Fear."

She swiped at her running nose. "What does that mean?"

"The unknown is always frightening, but you should not fear your own heart. You must be strong and prepare for the coming evil."

For the first time since Lance had walked away from her, she remembered that the galaxy would go on with or without them. "Coming evil? From Doom?"

There was a bright flash of light. "Something almost no one has seen before."

She blinked to clear the spots from her field of vision and noticed that her father was fading. "No, wait! What's going to happen? Who _has_ seen it?"

"You must speak to him."

"Father, I know I have to talk to Lance, but what about this unknown danger?"

His voice lingered a moment after his image had disappeared. "Do not fear your own heart."

She didn't get up immediately, instead leaning her head back against the cool stone and closing her eyes. If only her father had been clearer…

She sprang to her feet when the sound of footsteps reached her. Visitors here were rare. She was about to draw her bow when a familiar outline appeared in the candlelight. "Oh, Coran, it's you. Is Daniel out of surgery?"

"I have not yet heard, Princess. May I walk you back to the infirmary?"

She hesitated as he held out his arm. Lance would still be there and the last thing she wanted was to chase him out while the team waited for Daniel – because she was fairly certain he would leave the moment she walked in. Or maybe Dr. Gorma would have convinced him to get treatment for his own injuries while he waited. She decided to take the chance and accepted Coran's arm. "Thank you."

"I was looking for you to discuss an invitation from the Qirillian Empire. Your presence has been requested at an event in their capitol four days hence. I recall a Prince Ajax making quite the production over his desire to return our hospitality during the recent ball. Based on Commander McClain and the Red Lion's recent encounter with the main export of that particular region…"

"You're saying you think I should decline the invitation."

"You, personally? I think that would be quite advisable. Given the lack of notice, one could argue that it is hardly feasible for you to rearrange you schedule to accommodate them. However, if a member of the Voltron Force and I were to go in your stead…"

"You could do some reconnaissance while you're there and determine the level of threat."

"Indeed."

"And who will you be taking?"

"My initial suggestion would be the Red Lion."

"You want to take Lance on a diplomatic mission?"

"Though Commander McClain lacks traditional diplomatic tact, his bluntness could be an asset with this particular culture. A ranking officer will demonstrate that we feel the Qirillian Empire is worthy of serious consideration. But, given his injuries, it is probably unwise for him to appear as an official representative of Arus."

"His injuries?"

"Surely you've seen his facial lacerations and bruising?" Coran either ignored or didn't notice her sharp intake of breath when he mentioned them. "I believe his appearance will provoke too many questions. Thus, my second suggestion – the Black Lion. Although I am loath to separate Commander Kogane from the rest of the Force, I feel that his standing would be most helpful in establishing respectful relations with the Qirillians."

Allura nodded. "Okay. How long will you be gone?"

"I estimate a full day's travel each way and three days' stay. I suspect we will have an easier time getting away if you are not with us. The king was not terribly subtle about his desire to make a royal match for his son when he was here."

She was momentarily taken aback. "Prince Ajax?"

"Yes. If you do not mind my saying, Princess, he seemed quite taken with you."

"Are you suggesting…?"

"Hardly. I merely want you to be aware that he would likely consider any attention as encouragement." He paused outside the doors to the infirmary. "I shall go inform the Qirillians of our intentions. If you would be so kind as to ask Commander Kogane to come to my office so I can brief him?"

"Of course." She swallowed hard and entered after considering calling Coran back to come with her. She needed to face this sooner rather than later, especially if her father's warning was correct. The team needed to be strong.

Lance wasn't in the inner waiting room when she walked in, though it was clear from the hugging and shouting that something positive had happened. Hunk, who had apparent gotten back while she'd been gone, was the first to notice she had returned and swept her up into a bear hug. "Princess! He's awake! I walked in and the surgeon was here telling everyone that he's awake and in the recovery room!"

"Daniel? That's wonderful! Can we…Hunk, could you put me down?"

"Oh, right. Sorry." He dropped her gently to the floor, where Larmina, Vince and Pidge rushed up to her. Even in the midst of so much joy, she felt a deep, penetrating sadness. The only person in the room who seemed to share it in part was Keith, who hung back. An even louder shout went up when a nurse came to tell them they would be allowed to see Daniel for a few minutes.

The nurse chased the pack of team members as they charged out of the waiting room. "Only a few minutes! And keep your voices down!"

"Aren't you coming, Aunt Allura?" Larmina asked, turning before following Vince, Hunk and Pidge.

"In a moment. I need to speak with Keith." They were left alone in the now quiet waiting room. "Coran needs to see you in his office."

"Uh huh." He blue eyes were icy as he waited for her to go on, but she was at a loss for words. He eventually prompted, "Were you trying to make him jealous?"

"No. I…Keith, I…I really don't know what to say."

"Then tell me what's going on between you and Lance."

"I…Lance and I…we kissed at the ball. And I…it felt like…" She closed her eyes and allowed the warm feeling of the memory to fill her. "I can't stop thinking about it. About how much I…you probably don't want to hear about this."

"You're right. I don't. But I can think of someone who would."

"Where…where is he?"

"Finally agreed to be examined once Daniel got out of surgery. I'm serious about you needing to talk to him about this."

"I tried."

"Try harder. Consider it a direct order."

"Thank you, Keith." He stepped back when she moved to hug him. "Okay. Shall we go see Daniel?"

"Yeah."

"I am sorry, Keith. I shouldn't have kissed you."

He cleared his throat and refused to meet her eyes. "You said Coran needs to talk to me?"

"Yes, it's…"

"I'll go see him now. Daniel's probably a little overwhelmed."

Four visitors was a lot for someone who had just come out of surgery. She waited until Keith had left the infirmary to start checking behind some of the closed doors of the examination rooms.


	9. Chapter 9

Lance felt someone swat his hand away as he tried to reach for the spot on his scalp that was beginning to get numb from the shot Dr. Gorma had given him. The nurse standing by his head gave him the stink eye before readjusting the ice pack on his bruised and swollen cheek, further restricting his view. Not that it had been so great to begin with. He was lying on his side, facing the wall in a treatment room in the infirmary, having had the cut on his forehead treated and bandaged already. He was considering just letting the other one go without and hoping for the best, although medical attention was a welcome distraction from…he didn't even want to think about her right now. "So you're saying I'm gonna have a bald spot?"

"Only temporarily," Dr. Gorma said from somewhere behind him. "We need to shave the area around the wound in order to clean and repair it. Your hair will fill in quickly."

He had his doubts about aesthetics in the meantime. "You can't just stitch it up as is?"

"How many times do I have to tell you, Commander – we do not use stitches. We use derma gel."

"Same difference."

"I hardly see how sutures compare to a biocompatible liquid healing matrix."

"Whatever. I've got no problem with the goo. Can't you just rub it on and stick bandaid on like you did on my forehead?"

Dr. Gorma gave a long-suffering sigh. "Yes, I can see how carefully apposing the tissue to ensure minimal scarring could be mistaken for slapping on a piece of tape and walking away. Nurse, would you be so kind as to shave the area around Commander McClain's scalp wound?"

"Of course, Doctor."

"I need to see to another patient…"

Lance tried to sit up, but the nurse proved to be surprisingly strong. He chalked it up to the poor angle and lack of leverage. He tried to turn his head to look at Gorma instead. "I thought Daniel was supposed to be okay now."

"The young man's condition is stable. Though you may not realize it, while the Voltron Force does account for the lion's share of treatment here, I hardly think that is of much concern to the poor young maid who twisted her ankle on the stairs not long ago. Now, if you will excuse me, I'll return in a few minutes to apply the derma gel and align and secure the skin for optimum healing."

Lance wasn't sure if Gorma had been mocking him, but he doubted the dour medical man had much of a sense of humor. He waited until he heard the door close to say, "Y'know, I needed a haircut." When he got no response from the nurse, he decided to try a joke. "I was planning on getting all of them done, but I guess if a few get buzzed off completely, that'll average it out."

"You are moving too much. Please don't talk."

Well, it had been a pretty lame joke. He couldn't just lie there silently and let the woman shave half his head. "I didn't catch your name, by the way."

"Selia. No more talking now."

"Just want you to know I appreciate your…"

"I'm finished. Please wait here for Dr. Gorma."

"Oh, thanks for…" He heard the door close behind her as she fled. Was the medical staff really that sick of dealing with the team? He tried to think back to whether he had done anything to annoy them recently, but came up empty. He hadn't even been in the infirmary since he'd broken his arm and he'd behaved like the ideal patient on that occasion. He was sure of it.

He was still trying to remember any past incidents of medical aggravation he may have perpetrated when he heard the door open again. "Ready to glue me back together, Doc?"

The fingers that gently caressed his neck were definitely not Gorma's. "Lance…"

Allura's touch went a long way toward making him forget he was mad at her, but the thought that she'd so recently done the same thing to Keith's neck as she'd kissed him did the trick. Lance picked up her hand and dropped it from his neck. "I'm busy."

"Your head looks awful."

"Don't you know how to make a guy feel special."

"Painful. I meant it looks painful."

"Can't feel a thing with the local anesthetic."

He could feel light pressure in the general area he knew had been shaved, though the sensation was vague. He could handle her touching him at the moment if he couldn't quite feel it, so it didn't push her away. "It's a good thing your hair grows so fast."

He tried not to let the fact that she'd noticed such a detail dampen his anger. "You shouldn't be in here. It's not surgery, but…you still shouldn't be here."

"I just need to talk to you, Lance."

"I really don't think I can yet."

"But…"

"You really don't get the concept of giving people space, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm mad at you right now. And nothing you say will change that."

Her mouth was suddenly next to his ear, breath warm as she whispered, "Lance, I l…"

"Princess!" Lance cursed Gorma's sudden reappearance; he couldn't be sure, but Allura may have been interrupted saying something that actually could have changed everything. Gorma only seemed interested in sweeping her hair out of the tickly contact it was making on the back of his neck. "Please take care! Commander McClain has an open wound, as you can see."

Lance felt his body cool as she stepped away. He hadn't even realized how warm it had gotten in the small treatment room in the past minute or so. Allura didn't leave as Gorma started to bustle around his head. "Will he be all right, Dr. Gorma?"

"Oh, I would think so. No fractures or concussion, just some nasty cuts and bruises. I would recommend taking it easy for a few days, but I'm well aware that's a losing battle."

"The Voltron Force isn't used to losing."

"Of course not, Princess. I just wish they were better at following medical advice." Lance could feel something happening to his scalp, though it was hard to tell what until Gorma said, "There we are. Leave the bandage on for at least three days, then come back so we can evaluate the healing progress of both large lacerations."

Lance sat up too quickly, his vision swimming for a moment. He tried to cover it by pretending to look for the ice pack that had fallen from his cheek at some point. "Right, so I'm good to go. Can I see Daniel?"

"The young man needs rest, not visitors. I've already asked the others to leave." Gorma frowned, but not with the same severity as usual. "I suppose you can have five minutes. But no more."

"Thank you." He trailed Gorma to a door in the impatient ward and steeled himself to enter, but Allura grabbed his arm just as he was about to go in.

"We need to…"

"Talk, yeah. You mentioned that. But I want some time."

She nodded. "How long?"

He was surprised by her easy acquiescence, and grabbed the first number that came to mind, the one Gorma had mentioned not long before, "Three days."

"Three days?"

He kind of liked her disbelieving irritation – the wide eyes, the flared nostrils, the pursed lips. "Yeah. I just need some time and then…we'll talk."

"And in the meantime?"

"Life goes on." He was tempted to lean down and kiss her then and there, but the image of her and Keith was still too fresh. It was still hard to resist. "I really do want to see Daniel."

"Right. Give him my best and tell him I'll stop in later, please."

"Yeah." It was harder to resist temptation this time, but she thankfully walked away after a sad smile.

He took a deep breath and opened the door. He was momentarily speechless, a rarity. There was too much white – walls, floor, sheets, gown, cast – the only things breaking up the monochrome were some red lights blinking on a monitor and Daniel's head, floating in the strange whiteness. He was awake, though looking a little groggy; it was easier to accept him as a floating head that way, Lance decided as he entered and quietly closed the door. "Hey, Dan-Man. Uh…might be a dumb question, but how are you?"

Daniel seemed to take a moment to recognize him. "They keep giving me some kind of painkiller that makes it feel like I don't even have a leg."

"Probably not a bad thing right now." Lance folded his arms and nodded slowly. "You gonna be stuck here for long?"

"Hope not." Daniel blinked a few times and the usual fire returned to his eyes. "I wanna learn that killer spin you pulled off in Red when we were getting out of the asteroid field. Speed is one thing but that was…ridiculously awesome. How come you don't show us more stuff like that in training?"

"You have to master the basics before…" Lance caught himself, as he knew this was no time for a lecture on piloting technique. He stepped closer to the bed and patted Daniel's hand awkwardly. "Look, Daniel…I just want you to know that I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not getting us out of there faster. For not getting you back here sooner. For not flying smoother. I mean, you should be arguing for solo time in the Lions right now, not laid up in bed. I should have been better."

Daniel looked shocked and Lance worried for a moment that he was going to have to shout for the medical team, but he finally said, "Are the medications making me hallucinate?"

"Do you feel okay?"

"Yeah. I mean, no. I just…I couldn't see everything that was happening right after the planet blew up or while we were flying out of the mess, but the way you were flying…I think I'd be part of that debris field if it had been anyone but you. Don't tell Keith I said that."

Lance gently ruffled Daniel's hair. "If any of this conversation gets out, I'm just telling everyone you were whacked out on pain meds."

"Deal."

"Get some rest, kid. You're probably going to be stuck with a lot of textbook work over the next few weeks, but you've got some solo time in Red coming. If you want it."

"Are you kidding?"

"Knew you were okay."

"No flying until that leg is completely healed," Gorma announced from the doorway. "Commander, if you would let the young man rest now?"

"Right." He gave Daniel a final chuck on the chin. "Oh, by the way, the princess says feel better and she'll be in to see you soon. If you're allowed to have visitors." He shot a sarcastic look at Gorma, drawing a grin from Daniel.

Gorma was not amused. "Visiting hours will be increased as he recovers. Now, Commander?"

"Yeah, I'm going. See ya, Dan-Man."

"Thanks, Lance."

Lance was both gratified and disappointed to find that Allura wasn't waiting for him in the hall. He hoped three days would be enough. And that it wouldn't be too much.


	10. Chapter 10

Allura sat in Blue's second seat, not paying much attention to Larmina's flying. She was supposed to be giving her niece tips on navigating magnetic fields, but she found it hard to concentrate on anything other than Lance's voice barking instructions over the comms. She had held out for the first day and a half of his odd three day waiting period before finding herself outside his door. She hadn't knocked or rung the chime, but…the override code had proved too tempting. Luckily, he hadn't even been inside at the time and there had been no shirt carelessly tossed aside to tantalize her. She was fairly certain she could get him to stop ignoring her if she could get him alone to talk for just a few minutes, but if he continued to employ his impressive evasive tactics, she was in for another sleepless night. She couldn't see herself lasting another day and a half – that was almost two days! – especially given the previous day and this morning had been given over to meeting with Keith and Coran regarding their strategy for their visit to the Qirillians. No such distractions would be so readily available once they left later this afternoon.

"Allura, don't let her keep diving at that trajectory! She's not going to be able to pull out!"

She blinked as she realized the waters of Lake Arus were indeed coming up much faster than advisable. "Fire the forward thrusters, Larmina."

"Right. That's…"

"Allura!"

She tapped her foot impatiently and Blue lit up the appropriate control on the panel as an aid. A few moments later, Larmina had stabilized Blue and put her in a hover over the water. Allura tried to disregard that Lance had used her name instead of her title for the first time in over…it hadn't really been so long, but it grated on her ears every time he said 'princess.'

_He has to concentrate very hard to say it each time._

She jumped. She and Blue had a strong bond, but they rarely communicated in words. She concentrated hard. _How do you know that?_

_Red knows. Red talks. A lot._

Allura smiled in spite of herself. _Somehow, I'm not surprised. _What did surprise her was the sudden and unexpected conversation with her Lion. _Why don't _you _talk more?_

_I did not think it mattered to you. You always understand without words. Special attention is needed for such a feat._

She sighed. _I wish I could understand Lance that way._

_You do._

A more familiar sensation than Blue's voice suddenly invaded her consciousness. She cried, "Larmina, evasive maneuvers!"

"Why?"

Allura braced herself for an impact that rocked Blue. "That's why."

"Whoa, why the weapons? I thought we were just doing some flying drills!"

Lance sounded annoyed as he replied, "Yeah, because Lotor always sends us a nice card and a photo of the latest Robeast so we can prepare before he drops it here. You have to be ready for anything!"

Larmina muttered, "Bet you won't be ready for my foot up your…"

"Open channel, cadet."

Allura was thankful Larmina didn't understand the subtle destabilization of their flight pattern was caused by Blue's laughter. "Just relax, Larmina. Don't feel like you have to control every last little thing. Let Blue do some of the work."

"But I thought _I_ was supposed to be the pilot!"

"You are, but you still have to work as a team with your Lion."

"See, this is why I don't like relying on technology. I mean, at least if I'm fighting hand-to-hand and my Voltcom craps out, I've still got a chance!"

Lance again joined the conversation from afar, "Yeah, but Robeasts tend to fight harder than Vince."

"Hey!" Vince shouted from Green.

"No offense, cadet," Lance replied with a hint of sarcasm. "I want both of you to try that dive again. And this time try not to let me hit you so many times."

* * *

><p>Keith watched the skies over the castle as Lance put the cadets through a tough training session. He had opted out of this exercise in favor of leaving Black with a full charge before departing with Coran for the Qirillian Empire. Red was flying circles around Green and Blue in spite of the fact that Pidge and Allura had gone up with Vince and Larmina in their respective Lions. Keith had the feeling it was some kind of compensation for Daniel's injury. Lance could only make himself feel better by forcing the cadets to be better.<p>

He flinched as Blue took a direct hit and forced himself not to call Lance to tell him to back off. He knew Red was firing at less than ten percent strength during training, just a small zing for a Lion, but there was a part of him that felt almost ill every time he saw one of the Lions struck. Especially Blue. He told himself it was a result of seeing Allura take so many beatings in the Lion when she'd first been learning to fly, but he knew it was more. And now he had to confront the reality that 'more' was no longer an option.

Coran was suddenly standing beside him on the balcony. "Excellent day for Lion training."

"Don't think the cadets would agree with you."

"I recall standing in this very spot, watching with Nanny as the four of you put Princess Allura through the same drills. At the time, I didn't believe you were serving her best interests."

"Are you saying you've changed your mind?"

"Merely asking you to keep an open mind. Also, I feel I should mention that flying was the only activity that persuaded them away from young Daniel's bedside. Dr. Gorma thinks he needs rest more than socialization at this point."

"I'll mention it to them. And I'll ask Lance to…actually, I'll ask Allura to keep them from moving into the infirmary."

Coran chuckled. "Perhaps if you set the example."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"How many nights have you spent sleeping on a couch in the waiting room when a member of the team was injured?"

"That's different. I…they…growing kids need their sleep." Keith turned his attention back to the sky as the Lions departed toward their dens with a roar, not wanting to think about Coran's reminder of emergencies past. He couldn't exactly fault Vince and Larmina if they were ignoring the medical staff to keep Daniel company. "We should get going."

"Once the others return?"

They could be in the hangar in Black and gone before…no. "Right. I suggest you make sure you have all your luggage loaded."

Coran nodded and Keith turned toward the Control Room. Larmina and Allura were already emerging from Blue's chute. "…and when you feel your Lion going into a spin…"

"I _know_, Aunt Allura!" Larmina replied with a pronounced roll of her eyes. "Tell Vince when he gets back I'm going to the infirmary." She stalked off without another word.

Allura caught Keith's glance and showed off her own impressive eyeroll. "Sometimes I wish I could lock her in the simulator until she could run through those drills in her sleep."

"But?"

"It's hard to be irritated when she's so worried about one of her best friends."

As if on cue, Vince popped out of Green's chute and sprinted past them, saying, "Pidge is calibrating something and says he'll be back in twenty minutes!"

Allura smiled as the door closed behind the running cadet's back. "He's in a hurry to see Daniel, too, I guess."

Keith frowned, knowing he couldn't put off his real question much longer. "Allura, have you talked to him yet?"

"Daniel? I spent some time in the infirmary yesterday. I think he made us taste some of every type of candy Hunk brought back from Earth for him."

"You know that's not what I meant."

She made herself busy with a replay of the training session on one of the holoscreens. "I tried. He said he needs time."

"Time?"

"He promised me a conversation in three days." She glanced across the Control Room as Lance exited Red's chute. "One and a half, now."

"I want this settled one way or the other by the time I get back. This is the kind of tension that could damage the team." He didn't wait for her to respond before walking out into the hangar and calling over his shoulder. "Lance? A word?"

Lance started talking the moment he began to saunter over. "Hey, don't worry about things here. I'm not gonna lead a coup or sell off Yellow and Green for scrap metal or anything like that."

"You know, I wouldn't have worried about any of that if you hadn't mentioned it."

"Oh." He stopped at the edge of the catwalk and tapped his knuckles against Blacks open jaws. "Well, I'm still not gonna do it. Got some last minute orders for me?"

"It's not exactly an order, but…more like some advice." Keith took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "Allura isn't interested in me."

Lance raised an eyebrow, then laughed. "Yeah, sure she isn't."

"It's the truth, Lance."

"That doesn't sound like advice. More like stating a questionable assertion." He rubbed the back of his neck. "But if you're trying to say that you're backing off… I guess that means neither of us get her."

Keith gritted his teeth and leaned close to Lance's ear. It felt like a knife in his guts as he whispered, "You've already got her. Don't fuck it up."

He turned and entered Black without another word.


	11. Chapter 11

Lance stood frozen on the catwalk as Black stepped back with a menacing glare and stomped out of the hangar. He could hear the roar of the engines as Keith took off fade into nothing, yet still he stood there, waiting. He considered drawing his magma pistols, not that it would do much good, because any second Black was going to come snarling back in to treat him like a chew toy until deciding to disintegrate him with a shock tail blast, then use the pile of ashes as kitty litter.

That was infinitely more likely than what had just happened. Lance reached up and picked at the edge of the bandage on his forehead. On a whim, he ripped it off in a single yank. Okay, so not asleep. Also… "Shit!"

Two Arusian technicians working on a shuttlecraft on the floor below looked up in alarm. He gave them a half-hearted wave. "Not you guys. You're doing fine!"

It was pretty obvious that Black wasn't, in fact, coming back to tear him to shreds then chop up the shreds to feed through a fine mesh screen. He decided it was time to get out of the hangar, just in case. He cautiously poked his head into the Control Room. Allura had been talking to Keith there when he'd returned from drilling the cadets. He couldn't be sure that whatever they'd been talking about had led to Keith's surrender, but…it was a hell of a thing. And just after Lance had spent a sleepless night coming to the conclusion that when he talked to Allura, he was going to have to tell her that there could never be anything between them.

Now he was supposed to believe that, at the same moment he'd decided to let her go, he'd won the long battle for her…heart? It seemed impossible. He'd only ever allowed himself to feel anything for her because he'd never thought it could really happen. At most, regardless of his own feelings, he'd only ever realistically hoped to distract her for a short time. Now he had only a day and a half left to convince himself he wasn't the man she needed, that he shouldn't be with her, no matter how much they both wanted it.

It wasn't going well. Every time he closed his eyes he was assaulted with every fantasy he'd ever had about Allura: in bed, the shower, the beach, Red's cockpit, the forest. There was a particularly vivid one involving a pond fed by a waterfall in the secluded grotto he'd found during a hike outside the castle once. He could almost feel her warm skin against him in the cool water as they… These were the kind of thoughts that made him forget he was supposed to be thinking about ways to let her down gently and not doing other things to her gently. Or roughly. She probably wasn't even sure what she liked at this point. It would be fun to figure it out with her. And there he went again. He had to keep reminding himself that he was going to do the right thing. This nobility crap sucked.

Finding the Control Room blessedly empty, Lance made a dash for Red's chute. The rush of air that hit him as he descended was calming. It felt like a near-miss of weapons fire. There was no longer any doubt in his mind that he was in love with Allura. He would do anything to be with her, but he couldn't turn himself into a prince. She wasn't just some woman he'd met by chance; she was _the_ woman, the one he'd never expected to be real. There was also no doubt that he was the last man she would be allowed to be with. It was so simple and so extremely complicated. There were plenty of princes in the galaxy that would make a more appropriate match. Even Keith would be a smarter choice than him.

This was not the way Lance was used to feeling. He dropped into his pilot's seat and immediately felt better. He was alone without feeling lonely. Red recharging was like Hunk visiting a buffet – nothing would distract him and he probably wouldn't even notice you were there, but you'd still feel a distinct sense of camaraderie.

Allura either hadn't figured out the obviousness of his best hiding spot or she was respecting his request to put off talking for three days – unlikely, considering the looks she'd been giving him during the strategy meetings about the Qirillians. He'd also seen her sneaking into his room earlier in the day. He'd come around the corner to pick something up after the morning's meeting and found her keying a code into his door prior to entering. He'd briefly considered following her in and letting nature take its course, but he'd caught himself. At the time, he'd convinced himself, no matter how hot it was that she was breaking into his room, that she was just there retrieving a report or some other stupid thing he hadn't brought to the Control Room himself. Besides, they weren't going there. Not in real life, anyway.

He folded his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. His imagination was soon back in the grotto. They would bump into each other unexpectedly, discovering that they were the only ones who knew about the place. The idea that they were in a place no one would find them would prove too much fight and they would slip out of their flight suits through some unspoken agreement. She would swim out into the pond, beckoning him to chase her and he would oblige. He would get his hands on her behind the waterfall and touch every inch of skin she wasn't pressing against him. He could almost feel her now. He didn't have to think very hard to call her scent to mind. His awareness returned as he felt a twitch down below and concentrated on keeping his hands above the belt. It could get a little awkward if Red caught him indulging.

_I won't watch._

Lance's eyes shot open as a staring Lion suddenly appeared uninvited in his fantasy. He shook his head, especially since he could see from the instrument panels that Red had finished charging. "Did I fall asleep?"

_Yes. Dreaming about Blue's pilot excites you more than flying._

"Don't take it personally. Besides, it's not the same thing."

_Certainly hope not._

"Hey, it's not like it's something I'm in complete control of."

_Like me._ Red laughed. _You have a small Lion in your lap._

"Who're you callin' small?"

Red laughed again before getting quiet. Lance was about to close his eyes again when his Lion asked, _Will you bring her here to mate?_

"What? No!"

_Blue does not want such things occurring in her cockpit, but I…_

"Don't be a pervert. And why aren't you still charging?"

_I am completely charged._

Lance tried to look out one of the viewports, but it was hard to tell the time from the inside of a volcano. "How long have I been here?"

_You have been hiding for hours. _

"I'm not hiding. I just don't feel like talking to Allura just yet."

_Hiding is for cowards. I will not fly for a coward._

"I'm not…y'know, I'm just gonna head back to the Control Room. Thanks for the hospitality."

Red growled as he stepped out of the cockpit. Fantastic. Now he had two Lions angry at him. Three if Allura had been talking to Blue.

There was only one solution. It was in a crate in the back of the pantry. He could deal with some warm champagne if it bought him some sweet temporary oblivion.


	12. Chapter 12

Allura made her way down to the kitchens, craving something sweet. It was late and the hallways were deserted and quiet. She had been making an effort to plow through the literature Pidge had given her on ardillium reactors, but it was so dry. She shouldn't have changed into her tank top and pajama pants to read in bed. A snack was the just the thing to wake her up for another few pages, at least. Although they had spent a day and a half preparing for Keith and Coran's trip, she still wasn't clear on how the Qirillians mined their mineral or why they had never heard anything about the danger associated with it before. She wanted to understand exactly what they were walking into.

Additionally, she hadn't seen Lance in hours. No one had seen him since the afternoon's training session, although she hadn't asked the cadets, who weren't even at dinner, preferring to eat with Daniel in the infirmary. After deciding no one else would be joining them, Pidge had spent the meal talking to her about the myriad potential uses of ardillium if it could be reliably stabilized. Allura had tried to pay attention, but the live version was no more exciting than the reading. She was almost jealous that Pidge expected a glassy-eyed stare from Hunk, meaning that she was left to nod and make sounds of agreement at appropriate intervals. Lance would have kept dinner entertaining, even if he hadn't looked at her.

_One day more_, she told herself, pulling at the robe she had thrown on over her pajamas. She had made it two days already, what was one more?

The kitchen was always warmer than the rest of the castle. All the lights were on, but the large, low ceilinged room appeared to be empty. She had expected the staff to be gone, but they usually left only a few lights on to guide late night visitors to the freezers and pantries. She heard her footsteps echoing as she crossed to the large pantry where the fresh pastries would be. As she was about to open the door, she heard a noise like wood cracking. It was most likely one of the space mice, but there was no need to take a chance. Lotor and his creepy associate _would_ pick now to sneak something into the castle. She readied her bow from her Voltcom and nudged the door open with her foot.

As her eyes adjusted to the change in light, she made out a familiar silhouette leaning over a box somewhere near the rear of the long, skinny room. Her throat immediately tightened. "Lance."

He nodded tensely when he straightened, but he seemed to be looking at a point somewhere over her shoulder in the distance. "Princess."

Noting that he was holding at least four bottles of the champagne he'd commandeered, she raised an eyebrow. "Are you planning to drink all that yourself?"

"Well, I didn't dig it out of the crate just to look at it." The bottles clinked in his arms as he shifted uncomfortably. "You gonna shoot me?"

She realized that she still had her bow drawn and deactivated it. "Sorry."

"Whatever, killer Cupid. I'm sure the first shot would have gone straight through my heart. Instant fatality." He picked his way back to the door from the rear of the packed pantry. Squeezing past her in the doorway, he gave her another nod, this time staring at the doorjamb. "Well, goodnight, Princess."

"Stop."

"That a royal decree?"

She ignored the dig and grabbed his arm when he tried to walk away, feeling his muscles tighten through the soft fabric of his t shirt. She didn't mention it was the same one she had contemplated stealing not long before. Seeing him wearing it now, she didn't regret the choice; his flight suit showed his musculature, of course, but this was somehow better. She fought the urge to settle her hands on his chest, to feel it rise and fall through the thin material. _Okay, get it together, girl._ She tried to meet his darting eyes. "We can't keep avoiding each other."

His casual shrug was hampered by his armful of glass bottles. "I thought it was helpful during those flight drills today. Always better not to smash Lions in midair."

"We need to talk. I know you said three days, but…"

"Two's fine. I'm not mad anymore anyway. Shouldn't have been in the first place. All right." He stepped away from her to set his four bottles on one of the long island counters running the length of the kitchen. "Talk."

The sudden shift took her by surprise. Still, she had had plenty of time to think about what she would say when Lance actually agreed to listen. She followed him, taking a seat on a stool she pulled from under the counter. "First, I need to apologize again. I know I should never have…"

"Want a drink?" he interrupted. He popped the cork on one of the bottles of champagne, keeping his eyes down. "Although I'm thinking that may not be the best idea, considering what happened the last time we got into this stuff." He shrugged and took a long drink directly from the bottle. "Hey, is this what happened when you kissed Keith? Little liquid courage to start you off?"

His nonchalance was really starting to make her angry. "I was confused!"

"We don't even look anything alike!"

"Don't you dare try to make me laugh right now!"

"I'm not! You keep saying you kissed Keith because you were confused, but I don't get it. And don't tell me about how complicated it is, because I have a hard time seeing it that way. You don't start a relationship by making out with the competition. Not that I think that's what we're doing, but I kinda had that impression when…I know I made a mistaking thinking we could ever…you should be with Keith."

"What are you talking about? Keith isn't interested in me that way."

He almost choked on a mouthful of champagne. "Please. You bought that lie from our gallant fearless leader? Keith and I have been in a cold war over you for years."

"What are you…?"

"We've never exactly talked about because Keith doesn't talk about that kind of stuff and gives me the death glare anytime I mention how sexy you looked at a ball or whatever. Besides, we both know it's not our decision in the end, and that we can't be the decision anyway. But you have to know that any man with working junk not named Hunk or Pidge wants you."

She wasn't entirely sure what kind of junk he was talking about but that didn't seem to be the most important thing in what he'd said. "Even you?"

He finally looked up from the countertop. "_Especially_ me."

"Then I don't understand what the problem is." Jumping down from her stool, she tried to take his face between her hands. He dodged her, circling to the opposite side of the counter.

"You're a princess."

"Please. When was the last time you actually thought of me as a princess?"

"I think about it all the time. Usually right after I jerk off in the shower and remind myself that I shouldn't be thinking about you that way because you're a princess and I'm just an idiot pilot and… I mean, I don't like it, but I know it. There's a roomful of jerks at every ball that has a better chance than me. Hell, even that Ajax cretin has more of a right to think of you as…as…"

"As what?"

"As…as…y'know, like…"

"Lance, just say it!"

"I can't!" She jumped but held her ground as he suddenly threw his nearly full bottle across the room, shattering it against the wall. He paced back and forth, but didn't return to her side of the island, keeping the wide counter between them. "I mean, hell! I'm Lance fucking McClain! I'm the _man_. I can have any woman I want. I've always known that no woman was unattainable, until I met the one who is! And, big fucking surprise, she's the one I fall in love with. Me! In love! And I know I really can't and shouldn't have, but I can't stop thinking about you and wanting you and…maybe life would have been so much easier if I'd never met you! But maybe it doesn't matter because it's never gonna happen. And if it did, I'd probably get thrown off the planet. And I can't give up Red, which means I can never have you and…and I should stop talking now."

He reached for a new bottle of champagne, but she grabbed his hand to stop him. "Did you never stop to consider that I might want some input on a decision like that?"

"On whether Coran and the Arusian nobility get to toss me out an airlock? Don't forget to invite Nanny to that one."

"About whether I want a relationship with you!"

"Can't happen."

"Why not?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you? Princess!" He pointed at her, then at himself. "Idiot. Can't work. I don't know how I can make it any clearer."

"Try! Don't hide behind my title if that's the only thing stopping you!"

His gaze traveled very slowly from her waist to her face. "I really don't think you've thought this through."

"Of course I have! I love you, Lance!"

"Well, I love you, too!"

She was thunderstruck. She had no idea how to respond so she exclaimed, "Good!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Fine," he concluded with a grumble.

They were both breathing heavily and she realized they'd been shouting almost since they had started talking. She waited a full minute in silence for him to continue, but he seemed engrossed by something on the countertop, picking at it with his fingernail. She blew a stray hair out of her face with a puff of air. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"What are we going to do about it?"

Lance looked up and smiled. Allura thought she would melt. The counter between them didn't matter anymore.


	13. Chapter 13

Keith stared out at the endless black star field and wished that the path to the Qirillian Empire lay through more interesting space. They were just reaching the halfway point, so it would be a few more hours of this less than stimulating view at the very least. More time with his thoughts was not something Keith needed right now.

Conceding Allura to Lance had left a bitter taste in his mouth. In the moment, he had felt that it was only fair to let Lance know that she had made her intentions clear and that he, Keith, would respect her wishes. Almost immediately after takeoff, Keith had realized he should have made it clear that Lance understood Allura was not to be treated like any other woman he had been with. Keith had long disapproved of Lance's approach to dating, but he could hardly reprimand him for a difference in style. Just because Keith found relationships without the promise of more than physical gratification unfulfilling didn't give him a right to judge. And he had to admit that Lance rarely seemed to cause heartbreak beyond women who had been convinced they could change him into the type of guy who promised a commitment he had always told them he didn't want.

But those women had never been Allura. And Lance was Lance. He would pursue her, hard. Although Keith knew Lance would never force her into anything she didn't want to do, he was concerned that her innocence and Lance's experience would be an untenable combination. Would she defer to him, allow him to proceed the way he saw fit even if it went beyond her comfort level? Would Lance consider the implications of engaging in a relationship with a royal? Worst of all, would he lose interest the moment he realized she was no longer an impossible conquest?

Keith tightened his grip on Black's controls. The thought that anyone could ever look at Allura and see a mere conquest… There was nothing, _nothing_ that could protect Lance from a pair of blazing swords – not their years of shared duty, not their friendship, not their brotherhood – if he behaved as anything less than a true prince to Allura.

"Is something bothering you, Commander?"

Years of training ensured that Keith didn't react visibly, but he was startled by the sudden intrusion into his thoughts. He glanced over his shoulder. Coran was probably the last person he should talk to about this but… "It's…Princess Allura."

"Ah. I see."

"Do you?"

"You may not believe it, but I was also a young man once."

Keith shook his head. "Coran, it's not like that."

"You must understand that it is difficult for me to think of her as an adult and not a child. I know that she has grown into a beautiful, self-assured woman, but I cannot help seeing her as the little girl who ran to cry in my arms whenever Arus came under attack." Coran sighed heavily. "There have been times…I have done my best, but she needed her parents, not me."

"Coran, don't say that. Allura has been lucky to have someone like you in her life. The whole Voltron Force has."

"Sometimes I wonder if I've made the right choices concerning Princess Allura. I must consider both her welfare and that of Arus. Some have been easy, but others…" He hung his head. "Before she went to her first off-world ball, I had Dr. Gorma give her a birth control injection. It wasn't that…I just couldn't trust the men she would be meeting. If the worst were to happen and an heir… She was fourteen at the time and I don't think she was out of my sight for more than…I even slept in the antechamber of her guest suite."

Keith swallowed hard. "You were trying to…protect Arus."

"As I said, perhaps I have not been the best protector for the Princess." Coran gave another weighty sigh. "She thinks she is getting an immune booster every six months."

Keith was suddenly very glad Lance wasn't present to hear this tidbit. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Were you not attempting to express your romantic interest in the Princess?"

"Me? No!"

"My apologies. There is no need to be embarrassed. Though I would not actively encourage it, I must confess that I would be far more comfortable seeing her involved with you than a man whose character I did not know to be honorable."

He felt his strongest stab of regret yet. Lance was honorable, in his own way, but…damn it. "Oh, I…I'm not…I would never presume…"

"I'm sorry, Commander. We old men say more than we should when in need of sleep. Perhaps I shall turn in."

As Coran exited the cockpit for the small rear compartment, Keith squeezed his eyes closed and said a prayer to the Arusian gods responsible for Allura's protection now that he was no longer on the planet.

* * *

><p>Vince dropped his spoon on the tray angled over Daniel's bed. "Wow. Thumbs up on the mocha java chip. Hunk knows his ice cream. And candy. And cookies and snack cakes and…"<p>

Daniel interrupted with a grin, "Are you saying I should break bones more often?"

"Well…" He looked shyly at the contraption keeping his friend's healing leg elevated. He had spent more time here than their quarters in the past couple of days. "We could take turns."

Larmina frowned from her seat across the bed, where she was still scraping out the remains of a pint of black raspberry. "Do I have to be involved in this? I mean, this ice cream is good, but not worth serious repeated injuries. Besides, if I were stuck in here, I'd be asking Aunt Allura to call for a special harvest of the sweet ciegee trees on the southern continent, not for all these Earth foods."

Daniel waggled his eyebrows. "Not even pizza?"

"Maybe pizza, but it wouldn't be my first request." Larmina tossed her empty container in a graceful arc, bouncing it around the rim of the trash bin before it dropped in. "I have to admit, this ice cream is growing on me a little bit."

"Speaking of…was this the last of it?" Daniel was digging into the bottom of a container.

Vince glanced into his own empty carton. He didn't think he could eat any more, but it was almost impossible to say no to anything Daniel asked at this point. He and Larmina had only gone out in the Lions that afternoon because Daniel had looked so devastated when Lance had come to offer them some flight time so Dr. Gorma could take radiographs and run tests on his leg. Vince scratched his head thoughtfully. "We've gone through everything in the infirmary freezer. Hunk couldn't fit the rest of it up here, so he put it in one of the big freezers in the kitchen, with a sign threatening everyone that Yellow would take them out if they touched it."

"Yellow's a pussycat!" Daniel glanced at the clock on the wall. "Well, there's still an hour before you guys get kicked out. And Dr. Gorma did say I have to keep my strength up…"

A few minutes later, Vince was rushing to keep up with Larmina in the hallway. "Hey, wait up! My foot fell asleep sitting in Daniel's room!"

"Well, hurry! We don't have long to get the ice cream and get back before that evil night nurse…"

"Yeah, yeah. You do know she's not really gonna steal our organs if we fall asleep in the infirmary."

"Well, not mine. My aunt is the ruler of the planet. But maybe you should be worried."

He had to admit she had a point. That night nurse had a seriously mean attitude. "What would she even do with my kidney?"

"She probably just wants to redecorate her house or…" Larmina paused with her hand on the heavy door to the kitchen. "Do you hear something?"

"Relax, we're allowed to be in the kitchens." He had pushed the door open before he heard anything.

"Ooh, Lance…"

Vince froze in the kitchen doorway and felt Larmina do the same beside him. This was the most surprising thing he'd seen on a kitchen counter since that time the chefs had made the cake shaped like…no, this was way more surprising. Allura was on her back, arching off the countertop as a shirtless Lance, on top of her with one hand up her shirt and the other pulling it down from the top, used his mouth on her breasts. They were totally oblivious to anything else in the room, as evidenced by the fact that neither of them reacted when one of them knocked a bottle off the counter, shattering it on the floor.

Vince was torn. The gentlemanly parts of him tried to close his eyes, announce his presence; the teenage parts would have been willing to observe a while longer, but the choice was made for him when Larmina suddenly screeched, "Oh my gods!"

That got their attention. Lance cried out in pain as Allura's hand tensed up in his hair as he tried to scramble off her and the counter. She let go of him with a gasp and tried to adjust her top. "Sorry!"

"Nah, it's cool," he said to her with a smile before looking at Vince and Larmina. "Uh…well. Shouldn't you cadets be…uh, in bed?"

"Shouldn't you?" Vince couldn't stop himself from replying with something he suspected would have made Daniel proud.

"Oh!" Larmina gasped.

Every inch of Allura's visible skin was bright red as she pulled her robe closed. "We'll just…be going. Have…have a good night."

Lance was less flustered. "Anybody see a shirt around here?"

"Is…um…" Vince toed a grey lump of fabric on the floor near his feet. "I think…"

"Thanks." Lance bent down and grabbed it on his way out the door, close on Allura's heels.

They were left standing in the kitchen door as footsteps beat a hasty retreat behind them. Vince eventually broke the minutes' long silence. "That was…unexpected."

Larmina blinked and looked over her shoulder, as if trying to find some evidence that she hadn't been hallucinating. "I don't know how I feel about this."

Vince shrugged, not sure if he was willing to let go of the image of Allura's sensuality yet, no matter how ashamed he was of holding onto it. "Better Lance than Dudley. That was mentally scarring."

"Who? What are you talking about?"

"Never mind. Did Daniel say he wanted the double chocolate swirl or the triple chocolate brownie blast?"

"I'm sorry, are you talking about ice cream when we just walked in on Lance and Aunt Allura being…being…" She waved her hands in front of her face rather than concluding the statement. "And what was Lance hiding in his pants?"

Vince stopped cold in front of the freezer. "What?"

"It looked like he was hiding one of those bottles from the counter over there down his pants. You didn't see it?"

This was definitely not something Vince wanted to talk about with Larmina. "Let's just get the ice cream. I'm sure Daniel will be interested in hearing about what we just walked in on."


	14. Chapter 14

A/n: Thanks to my wonderful reviewers. Just a heads up that this whole chapter is most definitely **M rated**.

* * *

><p>Lance pulled Allura into one of the darkened, little used side hallways between the kitchen and his room. Pushing her against the wall, he pressed his lips to hers and found her a willing participant in the deep, passionate kiss. With the lingering cooking smells no longer hanging in the air, he could smell only her with every breath through his nose. Her arms were tight around his neck, pulling him into her. He dropped the shirt he was carrying as he buried his hands in her hair; he loved the way it fell freely when she wasn't wearing her crown. She was so beautiful, so irresistible, so…perfect.<p>

It felt as if a dam had broken, releasing all the pent up desire he had ever felt for Allura. The fact that she had launched herself across the kitchen counter at him not long before seemed to indicate that her inhibitions had flowed through a similar rupture. This was more than he ever could have hoped for, yet still less than what he truly wanted. But the night was still young. He pressed his entire body against her as he repeatedly ran his fingers through her silky hair, never losing contact with her mouth.

She pulled back after a few blissful minutes. "We shouldn't…not here…"

He trailed his mouth along her jawline, kissing his way to her ear. "Whole castle's gonna know by morning."

"Vince and Larmina won't…"

"No, but you know they're gonna tell Daniel." He stroked his hands down her sides as he kissed his way down the curve of her neck. "And someone from medical's gonna overhear and tell someone else, who's gonna tell someone else." He felt her robe drop to the floor and pool around their feet. "And once housekeeping or the castle guards hear, it's gonna be everywhere. So hiding is kinda moot at this point."

She suddenly pushed him away. He was about to protest when he saw her wicked smile. "There's still no need to put ourselves in a position to be interrupted again."

"So…my room or yours?"

"Yours is closer."

She was sitting on his bed a few short minutes later, looking slightly less confident than she had in the hall. He considered doing something to make his erection less obvious as he sat beside her, but it was a losing proposition. Although he had been dreaming about this moment almost since landing on Arus all those years before, he hesitated. "I don't want you to feel like…I won't be disappointed if you don't want to go further. I totally understand if you aren't ready."

"But I am." Her hand on his cheek was more tentative than it had been in the kitchen or hallway. "I love you."

"And I love you, Allura, but that doesn't mean we have to rush into…" She cut him off as she leaned into him, brushing her lips against his. A moment later, they were stretched out side by side on top of the covers. She draped a leg over him and pushed her hips against him. Without waiting for more encouragement, he slipped his hand under the waistband of her pants. He paused as his fingertips encountered a small patch of soft curls. He was so close, so close… "You're sure?"

"Please…" His fingers slipped into her wetness as she thrust her hips forward. "Oh!"

He continued to kiss her as he worked his fingers against her. To his surprise, her own hand was rubbing against the front of his pants. He knew he could explode from even that limited contact. "Allura…"

"Make love to me, Lance."

"It's your first time." He was careful not to make it a question as he withdrew his hand and pulled her tank top over her head.

"Yes."

He knelt on the bed between her parted thighs and looked down at her. "You are so beautiful." Her breasts fit perfectly in his cupped hands but he hesitated to go further. "We don't have to…"

Her eyes were serious, pleading. "I want this, Lance. I want you."

The last fragments of his resistance disappeared as he leaned down to kiss her. He suddenly felt like she wouldn't be the only one experiencing something completely new tonight.

* * *

><p>Allura bit her lip as she felt Lance slide her pajama pants down her legs. Although she had long imagined this day, her impressions of what it would be like had been vague and ambiguous. How could she have known that her heart would pound uncontrollably with every new touch, that each look would set off a fluttering shiver through her entire body? She had never even been naked in front of another person and now Lance was kissing his way up her bare legs, setting off a small electric shock with each small contact.<p>

He paused halfway up her body. "You are…wow."

"Lance, what are you…are we going to…?"

"Oh, yeah." He suddenly dipped his head between her legs. His lips and tongue worked against her inner thighs. "We'll get you nice and wet first."

"Are you…" Her mind flashed back to something she'd run across during a computer search she'd felt was terribly improper. "Are you going to eat my pussy?"

His head popped up, his eyebrows nearly disappearing under his hair. "What?"

"I'm sorry, was that not…?"

"That's exactly what I'm about to do." He grinned and his tongue flicked out to tease her for just a second. "I just didn't expect that kind of language from you."

She felt fresh heat spread over her skin. "Even princesses get the internet."

"Are you telling me you watch porn?"

"I have _seen_ it. I do not _watch_ it."

His breath tickled her as he talked, promising things to come. "Why?"

"I was…curious."

"Fair enough. We're gonna talk more about this later, but…I'd hate for your curiosity to never be satisfied."

The next few minutes – or it could have been hours, she wasn't sure because time had apparently stopped – were among the most intense of her life to that point. She ran her fingers through his hair on the unwounded side of his head, pushing his face down. Heat built in her abdomen. "Lance…oh, Lance."

Moments later, her world exploded in waves of pleasure. This was…was…why would anyone be willing to wait for this? When she came back to herself, Lance was smiling at her with his chin resting on her chest. "So…you're a fan?"

"That was amazing." She twirled a lock of his hair around her fingers. "But what about you?"

He turned to nip her breast with his lips. "We'll get there." She could feel him pushing his pants off as he continued to pay attention to her left nipple. "If you're happy, I don't need…"

"I want it all."

He was suddenly hovering over her, propped up on his elbows. She could feel his arousal against her belly. "Tell me you're sure."

"I'm sure." On a whim, she reached down to feel him with her hand. Oh. Oh! This was… "Can I…see it?"

"'Course." He rolled off her onto his side.

She was momentarily shocked. She understood what was going to happen, but there seemed to be a disparity. There was no way she had that much space inside her. She grasped him in her hand, but there wasn't much give. "It…it's awfully big."

This seemed to make him really happy. "It'll be okay." He kissed her deeply and she tasted something different in his mouth. She didn't think too hard about it because he was pulling back. "I should warn you…the first time…it's gonna hurt. You're gonna bleed a little."

She was still holding him in her hand and she felt him gasp as she gave him an involuntary squeeze. "And that's…normal?"

"Yeah." He pecked her lips as he climbed back on top of her. "I'll be as gentle as I can."

"I know you will."

"And you're completely sure?"

"Yes. Stop asking."

He laughed. "Right." He pushed her legs apart and she felt him pressing into her.

She was about to cry out when he stopped. "I told you it was too big."

"No more flattery. You just…" She furrowed her brow as he pushed again, encountering more resistance. "We don't have to. If we stop now, you'll still technically be a virgin."

"No." Her resolution was firm. "I want you to do it."

He stared down at her seriously. "All right."

Stars exploded behind her closed eyes as pain shot through her body, but there was something else. Something wholly fulfilling.

Lance was kissing her forehead, her eyes, her nose. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's all right. Just…" She lost her train of thought as he began to move inside her. "Oooh…"

"Better?"

"Oh, Lance…" She tried to focus on matching his rhythmic thrusting, but there were too many new sensations, too much, too much… She couldn't verbalize anything but happy moans.

He was nuzzling her hair as he increased his pace. "Allura. Allura…"

No one had ever said her name quite like that before. She sucked at the stubbly skin on his neck as the heat she had felt earlier began to build again. "Lance, I…Lance!" she managed to cry out before she was again lost in a flood of ecstasy. She clutched at him, never wanting him to leave her.

His sudden groan was accompanied by several protracted strokes before he stopped moving. His full body weight was pressing her into the mattress. Wrapping her arms around him fully, she held him against her. She wanted to hold him forever.

He muttered, "Allura…that was…I've never…you…" he trailed off as he kissed her neck. Moments later, he whispered almost inaudibly, "I love you."

"Love you," she whispered back, stroking his hair. Even his closeness was exciting. After her heartbeat finally returned to a normal rate, she asked quietly, "You said it only hurts the first time?"

"Yeah."

"So…when is the next time?"

He was suddenly kissing her again. "Whenever you want, beautiful."

She ran her hands over his well-muscled back. "Now?"


	15. Chapter 15

Pidge couldn't quite explain it. There was an odd buzz in the Castle of Lions. He hadn't noticed it until he'd left his room that morning, but it was evident enough when he walked down the halls that he had gone directly to the Control Room instead of breakfast. It wouldn't be entirely unreasonable for Maahox to have developed another form of sonic attack. There would be serious trouble if he had found a resonance frequency that could disturb the structural integrity of the castle.

The deserted Control Room didn't have the same background noise, allowing Pidge to collect his thoughts. All sensors were clear. He reran the scans three times just to be sure. He decided to have Vince run the scans again later, just to be sure. Pidge closed down the holoscreens and decided to respond to another odd sound, but one he could easily identify – a growl in his stomach.

The buzz resumed when he left the Control Room. It took some time, but he finally came to the realization when he was sitting down in the dining room that it was nothing more than talk. And _everybody_ in the castle was talking. Every time he had turned a corner there were small groups of people deep in conversation. He thought he heard several mentions of the princess, though the knots of guards or maids seemed to disperse the moment they realized someone outside their circle was present. He frowned but thanked the woman who set a plate and cup of coffee in front of him; she was busy talking with another server in tones too low to make out. Turning to his side, Pidge was thankful that there was at least one constant. Hunk was rapidly consuming a stack of what the Arusian cooks called pancakes with no regard for the whispering groups.

Pidge took a sip of his coffee before casually asking, "Hunk, is there something going on?"

His best friend spoke around a large mouthful. "Huh?"

"I mean, have you noticed something a little strange this morning?"

"You mean how the chorple sausage has that weird sauce on it?"

"No."

"Then I got no idea, little buddy. I'm just here for the greenberry pancakes. I always thought blue was the best berry color before I got here. " He swept the last bite through the puddle of blue sticky syrup on his plate before stuffing it into his mouth. "Still nothing better than maple syrup, though. Shoulda grabbed some when I was on Earth."

"Right, but have you heard anything? I feel like I'm missing something."

"Probably just some gossip. You know how people love to talk."

"But do they usually talk this much?"

Hunk shrugged. "If it makes you feel any better, they probably aren't talking about you. Maybe Coran forgot his moustache when he left yesterday."

"Forgot his moustache?"

"See? Now we've got our own thing to discuss."

"Right." Pidge picked at his breakfast. The sausages really did have a weird sauce on them. "Feel like visiting Daniel with me before you go get Yellow for that tune up?"

"Read my mind." As they headed toward the infirmary, Hunk said, "Hey, wouldn't it be crazy if Coran really did forget his moustache?"

"How would that even happen?"

"I don't know. Lance used to think it was fake, so…maybe he was right?"

"That's…" Pidge jumped as a cluster of castle guards dispersed when they came around a corner and he remembered that there was something more interesting going on than Coran's potentially fake facial hair. "What are they all talking about?"

* * *

><p>Lance wasn't sure at first if he was having a particularly vivid dream. As in most of his dreams, there was a beautiful woman with him. Unlike most of his dreams, however, this one was very real, sleeping spooned against him, warm with soft skin that smelled like… "Allura," he mumbled before opening his eyes to a tangle of her gorgeous blonde hair in his face. The previous night came back to him in a rush of memory and sensation. He could hardly believe that a few short days ago he had never so much as kissed her. He tightened the arm he had around her waist, pulling her closer.<p>

She settled against him in her slightly changed position and sighed in her sleep. "Mmm."

This was obviously the best possible way to wake up. He would definitely be willing to do it every morning, if she'd let him. He burrowed through her hair to kiss the back of her neck. He was going to keep this up until his lips blistered. "So beautiful."

"Lance…" she murmured.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you." He realized he was lying as she turned sleepy green eyes toward him over her shoulder.

"What time is it?"

"No idea. From the light, I'd guess not too early, but no one's released the hounds yet."

"What does that mean?"

"Means I can keep doing this." He buried his face in her neck again and began to explore the rest of her body with his hands.

She wasn't shy about returning his caresses, reaching immediately for the twitching erection he was pressing against her lower back. "I can see you've had enough recovery time."

"Hey, I am to please." She been slightly disappointed to discover the existence of the male refractory period, but he felt he'd done a good job keeping her interested while willing himself hard again. And again. And _again_. It had really been a hell of a night.

The sultry glint in her eyes told him it wasn't over yet. "Do you feel like aiming again?"

Another round of spirited lovemaking later, during which Allura was delighted to find she enjoyed being on top, they had returned to the position in which they'd awoken. Lance was feeling like he could probably use some more sleep and wrapped his arms around her in preparation for just that. "I don't know if we're going to be able to keep up this pace. I mean…you do realize…I'm surprised you're not sore right now."

"Oh, I am."

"Then why do you keep…"

"You're worth it." She suddenly turned in his arms and snuggled into his chest. "I'm just sorry we didn't do this sooner."

"So you're making up for lost time?" He stroked her hair, wondering how his life would be different if he'd been with Allura months, years ago. He never would have left Arus to teach at the Flight Academy, that was for sure. They could be an established, accepted couple. Maybe they could even be married. He shook his head. One night with Allura and he was thinking about marrying her. He was fairly certain there would be a problem there, but he also hoped there could be some kind of compromise because he knew Arusian custom dictated that she would only be crowned queen after her marriage. Something about ensuring the intention of producing an heir.

Oh.

Oh, _shit_!

He felt as if he'd been thrown into a pool of icy water. "We didn't use any protection." He cursed himself for his lack of forethought. Granted, he hadn't been planning on sleeping with Allura last night, but he knew there were at least a few condoms he could have dug out of the mess of papers and assorted articles in his nightstand. "We…I…oh, shit." He held her tighter rather than let her go, which he knew would have been the wiser choice given that he had possibly just ruined both or their lives. "How many years do you get in prison if you get the princess pregnant? Or do they just behead me?"

"You don't have to worry." She stretched her arms over her head before wrapping them around him, pressing against him in ways that almost convinced him he really didn't have to worry. She certainly seemed calm about it.

"What, do Arusians have some kind of secret pregnancy block?"

"Not secret, exactly, but I've been on birth control for quite some time."

If he'd felt like he'd be doused with cold water before, he was now encased in an iceberg. "You…what?"

She drew back from him slightly so she could look into his eyes. "Coran doesn't know that I know. The nurse who was supposed to give me the shot told me, I think around the time I turned eighteen. She said she didn't think it was fair that Coran and Dr. Gorma were lying to me and that I should be able to choose for myself. I chose to keep taking the shot every six months." She smiled. "I was spending every day surrounded by handsome Lion pilots, after all."

"But…you…we…"

Her smile became a smirk. "You're my first, Lance."

"Yeah, I know, but…"

"Up until now, I think it was just a precaution. Coran was trying to prevent an unexpected heir."

"But…last night was your first…"

"I know. And I wouldn't change a thing."

"Me neither." He allowed himself to be distracted by her delicious lips for a few moments. "But I'm still confused about…did Coran think one of us would…"

"I think he's always been more concerned about entitled princes who wouldn't take no for an answer."

"That's…sad."

"Let's not talk about it, then."

He was thinking about pressing the topic when his Voltcom beeped from somewhere on the floor where he'd dropped it the previous night. "Damn it."

Allura wouldn't let him out of bed, not that it was difficult to convince him to stay. "Mine's on the nightstand."

"Won't it be suspicious if I reply on yours?"

"Yes, but if it's something that concerns the team, I should be hearing from Pidge right about…" She reached behind her as her Voltcom beeped and hit the comms button. "Yes?"

"Hey, Allura. Keith and Coran just checked in. They've arrived in the Qirillian capitol and they'll let us know if they find out anything."

"Oh, good. I thought they weren't supposed to get there until later today."

"I guess they made good time. Oh, by the way, do you know what's going on in the castle today?"

"I don't remember anything being scheduled."

"Not anything official, just…it seems like everyone is talking about something. I'm just trying to figure out what it…"

"I'll see you later, Pidge." She shut off her Voltcom and dropped it on the floor. "Well, you were right."

"Totally. About what?"

"You said the whole castle would know by morning."

"If it makes you feel any better, I take no pride in understanding the rumor mill."

She suddenly leaned in and kissed him soundly. "We have to get up."

He waggled his eyebrows and didn't release his grip on her hips. "Shower?"

"Tempting, but I don't have anything to put on afterwa…oh my gods, I don't have anything to wear!" She sprang out of bed and started grabbing clothes off the floor.

Lance watched her move around the room, naked. It was mesmerizing. He did have to agree selfishly that he didn't want anyone else seeing her like this. "Wait, you had clothes on when you got here. Why can't you put those back on?"

"I can't walk back to my room in broad daylight in nothing but my pajamas! Where's my robe?"

"Uh, I don't see it." He had a vague memory of abandoning it in a hallway somewhere, along with his favorite t shirt. That had probably contributed to whatever Vince and Larmina had revealed. Great. He reluctantly climbed out of bed and ambled to his closet, selecting the smallest thing he owned, a sweatshirt from his first year at the Flight Academy that no longer fit but he'd never been able to throw out. "You can just throw this on."

"Right, just in case anyone who sees me has any doubts about where I've been."

"Are you embarrassed?"

"No. But I do have to maintain a certain sense of decorum." She was standing in the middle of his room, hands on her hips, giving him her queen face. Naked. Completely naked.

He couldn't stop himself from smiling as he walked over to her with his old sweatshirt. "I love you."

Her frown curved into a smile as she stepped into his embrace. "My room tonight."

"Good. And if I have nothing to wear, I'll just put on my Voltcom and…"

"Oh!" He regretted making the suggestion as it took only seconds for her to go from naked to armored. She ran her fingers through her untamed hair in his mirror before turning toward the door. She paused before opening it. "Lance…thank you."

"Eh, you would have thought of it when you put on your Voltcom." He leaned down to pick up his own off the floor. When he straightened, she was standing in front of him again.

"I meant for last night. Everything. It was perfect." She kissed him gently. "I love you."

He collapsed into bed as soon as she was gone. He needed to recharge for tonight. He refused to disappoint her.


	16. Chapter 16

A/n: More **M rated** content in the first section of this chapter.

* * *

><p>Even though the hallways between her room and Lance's were strangely empty, Allura couldn't help but feel that she was being watched. It was rare that no maids would be in the residential section of the castle at this hour. She thought she heard giggling as she walked past one door, but decided to ignore it. Her head was starting to ache. She walked purposefully, kept her head high, eyes straight ahead.<p>

Once safely inside her room, she locked the door, deactivated her Voltcom and fell into her bed, sobbing. This was not the reaction she had expected of herself, even though she was emotionally and physically drained. The truth was she had never been happier. Lance made her feel truly loved and desired and…complete. She hadn't even realized there was anything so important missing in her life. And he had known, instinctively it seemed, how significant it was that she make the final decision. There had never been a moment she had felt intimidated, frightened or helpless.

Her ultimate feeling was one of relief. Although she had never told anyone, there was only one reason she had continued taking the birth control injections after the nurse had told her what they really were.

Lotor.

She had had recurring nightmares for years that he would be her first. It was enough to make her sick to her stomach. No matter how hard she fought, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop him from taking exactly what he wanted if he ever succeeded in kidnapping her for more than a trip inside Arus' atmosphere. The threat had loomed larger since he had added the power of Haggarium to his arsenal. She had felt the terrifying raw power when he had captured her during his last direct assault on the castle months ago. On Crydor she had gone with him willingly in order to protect Sven's son; only the defenseless child in her arms had forced her to hold it together. And if he ever did…and she… Somehow, all of her dread of the potential assault had been linked to losing her virginity. She had imagined only pain and brutality and shame.

But it wasn't Lotor after all. It was Lance. She started to feel better just thinking about him. He had been so caring and she had felt so safe with him. And sex was better than she had ever dreamed. Not even the threat of Lotor could take that away from her. She pushed herself off the bed as she realized she wanted Lance here with her right now. No longer concerned about what she was wearing, she struggled into the first top and pants she grabbed from her dresser, fighting a wave of dizziness that almost overcame her.

She had put on what she judged was enough clothing to leave her room when the doors opened. He was there, in his flight suit and leather jacket and… "Lance!" She threw herself into his arms, unconvinced that it had been mere minutes since she had seen him. "How did you…?"

"I don't know." He lifted her off the floor and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. "I just…I tried to go to sleep after you left, but I got a headache and I felt dizzy and sick and…I had to come find you."

She blinked in confusion, no longer nauseated or lightheaded. "Do you feel better now?"

"Completely." He loosened his hold on her enough for her to feel the floor under her feet again. She didn't pull out of his embrace. "I'm guessing you haven't taken that shower yet?"

A few minutes she was standing under a steaming stream of water, still in his arms as she rinsed shampoo from both of their hair, being careful of the cuts on his forehead and scalp. "This is…"

"Mm hmm."

Her hands ran easily over his skin, slick with soap. As they continued to kiss, she trailed her fingertips over his broad shoulders, down and back up his deceptively strong arms. She was tracing the well-defined muscles of his chest and stomach when she realized how much he was enjoying their shower. She pulled back from their kiss to look down.

"Last night…in the kitchen…you said you think about me when you jerk off in the shower. That means you..." He looked bigger now than he had only moments ago, and seemed to still be growing. She wrapped her hand around the base, feeling a tickle from the hairs there. "Hmmm?"

"Yeah. About that. Um." He shuddered as she tried an experimental stroke along his length. "Ooooh. Should not have said that."

"Show me?"

"What?"

"Show me how."

"You…" He gasped as she squeezed slightly. "Okay." He covered her hand with his and guided her touch. "Right, just…don't grip it, but don't go too loose either."

She felt oddly powerful when he let go. Bringing her other hand down, she did a little more exploring. From Lance's moans, she decided that he was enjoying it. If only she could see a little better… She knelt in front of him, still using her hands to caress him. She flashed back to the previous night, Lance with his head between her legs, driving her insane with need and pleasure. On a whim, she stuck out her tongue and flicked it against the tip. Her lips were wrapped around it before she knew what was happening. He jerked back suddenly, almost slipping. "Allura!"

"No good?" It was hard to see as she looked up at him through the spray of water from the shower.

"_So_ good. I just…you don't have to."

"And if I want to?"

Even through the water, she could tell he was smiling. "Well, in that case…you're the princess."

She spent the next minutes figuring out how to breathe while water cascaded down her face and her throat was partially blocked at an increasing pace. Only Lance's continuous flood of happy groans and exclamations convinced her to keep going. Still, she had nearly had as much as she could stand when she almost choked. Just as she pulled back, he yelled, "Oh, damn, Allura!"

She tasted salt and was afraid for a moment that she'd accidentally bitten him. When she tried to look, a spurt hit her in the eye. Ah. So that was why the sheets had been so damp when she'd been trying to sleep last night.

He was suddenly kneeling beside her, patting her back. "Sorry. Meant to warn you before I came, but…didn't mean to get you in the eye, either."

"It's okay." She glanced down and noted that he was again shrinking. "Was that…was that all right?"

"All right? That was amazing!" He helped her to her feet and turned off the water. "You learn that on the internet, too?"

He almost slipped again, even though she hadn't hit him that hard. He apparently forgave her, because he was playfully trying to steal her towel moments later. She felt absolutely wonderful.

* * *

><p>Lance felt miserable. His head was throbbing, making him feel nauseous and unsteady. He tried to pretend it was connected to whatever Pidge was saying he was doing to Yellow today, which he was intending to do to Red tomorrow. Some kind of tune up? Changing tubes and oils and…<p>

"Lance!"

He caught himself on the railing of the catwalk in the hangar just before toppling over it. "Ugh."

Pidge was standing beside him, looking concerned. "Lance, are you okay?"

"Uh…just…not feeling so good."

"Since when?"

"Uh…" He had started to think he was coming down with something just after Allura had left his room, but he'd felt better the moment he'd gone to her. Now he was feeling even worse. "I dunno. Today?"

"We need to get you to the infirmary right away."

"What? No, it's just a little…"

"Radiation sickness? Did you forget you got hit with a huge dose a few days ago?"

"No, no." Lance was having trouble sharing Pidge's concern. Or following the conversation. "You said Red's shielding…"

"I could have been wrong! I think the fact that your turning green and having trouble standing kind of supports that."

"I'm not…" he trailed off as the hangar began to spin.

Hunk was holding him up by the shoulders when he opened his eyes. "Yup. Infirmary." Lance felt his arm dragged over Hunk's broad shoulders and he tried to put one foot in front of the other as they exited through the Control Room.

Walking got easier the closer they got to the infirmary. "Hunk, I think I can make it on my own, now. I'm feeling better. I may not even need a doctor."

"Not like you're gonna use up your visits for the month or something."

He finally got away from Hunk as they entered the waiting area, but Pidge had gotten there ahead of them and two orderlies were waiting to escort Lance into an exam room. "Guys, I'm _fine_. I'm probably just dehydrated or something."

"Oh, I'll bet you are, Commander." The burly orderly on the left winked at him exaggeratedly. "We'll just have you wait for Dr. Gorma in…"

Gorma suddenly poked his head out from behind a door across the hall. "Ah, Commander. If you could wait just a moment, Princess Allura has taken ill and…"

"Allura!" Lance shouted, elbowing his way past Gorma into the examination room. She was wrapped around him within seconds. Her scent was like an antidote, making him feel like himself again instantly. He couldn't stop himself from kissing her.

He slowly became aware they had an audience. He could hear chuckling from the two orderlies, protests from Gorma and from Hunk, "Uhhhh…"

Pidge said, "I guess this is what the cadets were talking about this morning. Also, everybody else in the castle."

Lance didn't particularly care what anyone thought, said, saw or spread around the castle later. He reluctantly broke away from Allura's lips, though he couldn't let her out of his arms. She only pulled closer to him as Gorma finished expelling everyone but them and himself from the exam room and slamming the door.

"Well. Both of your symptoms have resolved?"

Allura looked at him and nodded. Lance turned so he could see Gorma while maintaining his hold on her. "Feel great right now."

Gorma picked up a chart and flipped through it while saying, "If the rumors flying about the castle are to be believed, am I correct in saying you engaged in sexual intercourse last night?"

Lance experienced the most terrifying thought of his life. "Please don't tell me that sex made us sick."

His outburst was ignored. "Did you experience any nausea, dizziness or pain while…together?"

"Nope. I was fine until she…so I…uh, heh, uh…" He wasn't able to suppress a grin when he thought back to the shower. "I wasn't feeling so hot in the hangar when Pidge and Hunk brought me down."

"And you, Princess?"

"I felt perfectly fine until I got back to my room this morning. I started to feel a bit unwell, but nothing serious. It lasted until I was near Lance again. It got worse during my meeting with the captain of the castle guards, which was why I came here."

Gorma nodded, making some marks on his chart. "And how long had you been physically separated when the symptoms set in?"

Lance wished Gorma would stop asking stupid questions and just give them a pill or something. "What does that have to do with anything? Pidge said the radiation…"

"The good news is that it is highly unlikely you have radiation sickness." He took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm afraid this is somewhat beyond my field of expertise, but it sounds as if one of you initiated a bonding." Lance had no idea why Allura gasped. Gorma frowned. "From your reactions, I am to assume it was you, Princess?"

"Oh, Lance. I'm so sorry." He was shocked to see that her eyes were welling with tears. "I didn't realize I…" She buried her face in his chest.

"Uh, what's the big deal?"

"You are experiencing a change in brain chemistry," Gorma replied in a way that made Lance feel like he'd missed something really basic.

"Is it an Arusian thing?"

"I suppose it would be a rarity between Terrans, but…" He sighed. "As I said, this is not my specialty. The two most important factors are time and space."

"Meaning?"

"The further and longer you are apart, the sicker you'll be. If no treatment is initiated to stop it, it will take roughly ten days for the bond to solidify and during that time you need to remain in proximity to each other."

"Treatment?"

"It's not something I've ever done myself, but I'll have the neurologist in tomorrow. In the meantime, I suggest you remain _close_ to minimize the symptoms." He left with no further advice.

Lance looked down at Allura, who was still pressing into his chest. "So…we're bonding." She gave a single brief nod, but didn't look up at him. "And it's…"

"Trouble," she finished.

He wasn't sure he agreed if it started with ten days of never being away from her.


	17. Chapter 17

"I don't get what the problem is."

Allura shook her head as Lance followed her out of the infirmary. He didn't seem to understand just how significant this was. True bonding had become something of a rarity in current Arusian society, though it wasn't unheard of. It was a staple in all the classic romances – none of which he would have read, not being educated on Arus. She struggled for an analogy with a basis in Earth culture. "This isn't…oh, it's like Romeo and Juliet!"

"So it's gonna end in suicide?"

"What?" She realized she shouldn't have used an example gleaned from a play she hadn't stayed until the end of during a diplomatic visit to Earth. She had assumed it ended happily, like most Arusian dramas. "No, I just meant…wasn't there something about star-crossed lovers?"

"I dunno." He wrapped an arm around her waist from behind as they walked and kissed her hair. "I'm not big on star-crossing without a big-ass engine behind me."

"Be serious."

"I'm trying, but no one will explain to me why this bonding is such a big deal. I mean, like…the team, we've all bonded with our Lions, but we're not out in their dens getting freaky with them."

"That is just wrong." She stopped in front of her door, not having realized where she was going until she got there. This was starting to get out of hand. Of course, with no plans for the afternoon and a doctor's order to remain close… She entered her key code and the door swooshed open. There were two maids cleaning the outer room of her suite who looked up guiltily and hurried to curtsey when they entered. She waved them off. "Thank you, but you can go."

"Just have someone send lunch up! Maybe a sandwich!" Lance called after them. He looked at her with a goofy grin as he flopped on the couch. "I'm hungry."

She smiled and sat beside him, leaning into him as he settled his arm around her. She was well on her way to dozing off when he said, "So are you going to explain this whole bonding thing to me or do I have to wait for the brain doctor that Gorma ordered?"

"It's…"

"Please don't say complicated."

"Well, it is." She took a deep breath and fiddled with the fingers on the hand he had on her shoulder. "Bonding is supposed to be something that happens between two people who can't live without each other."

"Uh huh."

"People who are going to spend the rest of their lives together."

"Yup."

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah, you just said we'll be together forever."

"And that…you're okay with that?"

"Yeah." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "Huh. I never really thought about how good it would feel to say that. I'm sitting here with the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. Nice."

This was the last response she had expected from him. She turned and attacked him with kisses. The door chime prompted her to climb out of his lap a few minutes later.

The spread that was delivered along with a fully laid table for two by six servers reminded Allura why she never made requests like this. Even Lance seemed surprised, though it didn't stop him from eying the table almost as hungrily as he did her. She sat in the chair one of the waiters set down and offered her. "Thank you."

"Of course, Princess." He bowed deeply and remained beside her chair, in spite of the fact that the rest of the servers had already departed. "Can we bring you anything else?"

She looked at the trays heavy on the table. "I think this is quite enough."

"We had discovered some remaining Terran sparkling wine, so I took the liberty of bringing two of the chilled bottles up with your luncheon. I believe it is traditionally served chilled, Commander."

Lance nodded curtly.

"Shall I open it for you?"

"I think we can manage." Lance was already picking at the fruit platter in the middle of the table.

"Don't hesitate to call if…"

"Thank you," Allura said firmly, allowing just the right amount of royal annoyance into her voice to send the waiter scrambling for the door after a final crisp bow.

"Finally." She felt Lance rubbing his foot against hers under the table. "That guy could not take a hint."

"Considering the staff just sent up an elaborate meal when you asked for a sandwich… I'm used to them taking an interest in me, but this is excessive."

"They're probably trying to pick up some tips on princess-seduction from watching me."

She raised an eyebrow. "What kind of sandwich did you get?"

"Way to change the subject." He removed the lid from the tray directly in front of him. "Did I get yours?"

She uncovered her own plate and found the same elaborate fish and pasta dish. "They brought the same thing the last time Coran set up a private lunch for me and some ridiculous prince from I can't even remember where."

"So your castle staff took it upon themselves to make this our first date?" He grinned, but his expression changed abruptly. "You didn't eat with that jerk in here, did you?"

"No. In the gardens. And the waiters didn't leave us alone."

"So they're either giving me the thumbs up or throwing in the towel because they know they can't keep you off me."

She debated replying with something designed to get him into her bed at that moment to prove it went both ways, but she found that she was hungrier than she had thought. She took a bite of the tender fish that had probably been caught in Lake Arus that day. They ate quietly for a few minutes, though their legs still touched under the table.

Lance finally reached for the bottle of champagne and popped the cork to pour her a glass. After he took a sip from his own glass, he said, "Now that there's a table between us – not that I think it's any barrier to your insatiable need to be all over me – are you going to explain to me what this bonding stuff actually is? Like, what's gonna happen?"

"When it's complete…the way I understand it, it will be something like what we have with our Lions."

"You're gonna be in my head making snarky comments all the time?"

"Well, maybe. But it goes beyond communication. I think we'll be able to share emotions and…okay, I should admit that most of what I know about bonding comes from classic Arusian literature, so I don't know what's real and what's romanticized." She felt a rush of blood in her cheeks as she recalled one story in particular. "I…I've read that even sex is…more…" she trailed off and tried to cool herself with a sip of champagne.

"Well, that's obviously a myth, then." He stood, circled the table and knelt in front of her, hands on her knees. "Nothing could be better than making love to you."

She had no doubt he was correct as he lifted her bodily from her chair and carried her to bed.


	18. Chapter 18

Keith drummed his fingers absently on the table until Coran shot him an annoyed look. This dinner had been going on for what felt like hours and had consisted mainly of a hard-sell of the mutual benefits of expanded diplomatic relations between the Qirillian Empire and Arus. King Ablen was seated on Coran's left, talking non-stop about powering his entire planet with three ardillium reactors and throwing out strong suggestions that Arus should utilize the same system. His son, Prince Ajax, was on Keith's right and would not stop yammering about what a wonderful visit to Arus he'd had, with special emphasis on his admiration for Princess Allura – a topic Keith was far less inclined to think about than he would normally be.

He nodded without really listening, his eyes continuously scanning the banquet room. Since arriving on Qirillon earlier in the day, he hadn't seen one thing to support the feeling of foreboding in his gut that had coincided with setting foot on the planet. He was eager to get back to Black Lion to see if he had detected anything worrying, but for now… He poked at the eighth or ninth course of what had to be the blandest food in the galaxy and tried to make an effort to listen to Prince Ajax.

"…and you truly are lucky to be in the presence of such a beautiful, intelligent, accomplished Princess on a daily basis. Merely meeting her has inspired me to begin learning to pilot one of our fighters."

The image of the awkward prince trying to handle a Lion almost brought a smile to Keith's face, but he opted for an evasive reply. "She's a talented pilot. She's also put in a lot of practice time to develop her skills."

"Which makes it all the more impressive! To both protect and rule her planet with such great success! I can only imagine!"

"Uh, right. Well…" Keith tried to wash the taste of paper out of his mouth with the somewhat soapy-flavored wine. "You said you're learning to fly a Qirillian fighter?"

Prince Ajax puffed up, making himself look a bit like a frightened cat. "Just beginning to, I'm afraid, but I intend to put in the time necessary to become proficient."

Seeing an opening, Keith took it. "And do your fighters run on ardillium power?"

"Oh, no, no, no. Ardillium is far too unstable. It was only very recently that we developed the containment devices necessary to remove small quantities of it for use in reactors."

He tried to casually shift some beige paste around his plate to make it seem like he had eaten more as a cadre of waiters moved toward the head table with what appeared to be yet another course. "Ardillium seems like it would be a pretty powerful weapon."

King Ablen's voice suddenly rose over the din of plates being exchanged, "Surely, Commander, I did not just hear you suggest that we are developing ardillium weaponry?"

"Not at all." Keith grimaced as Coran stepped on his foot. "I was just thinking about how disastrous it would be if a less responsible people were distributing ardillium. I meant no offense."

The king frowned. "I suppose, given your position as Commander of the Voltron Force, you must be more used to seeking out threats than forging partnerships with willing allies."

"Your highness, Commander Kogane and I…" Since Coran had joined the conversation in full diplomatic manner, Keith swallowed his pride and turned his attention to his new plate of unappealing lumps.

Prince Ajax didn't seem to notice that there had been any unpleasantness and had already returned to his favorite topic. "If only Princess Allura had been able to attend, I'm sure she would love the sweet chilled masnian."

Keith was still trying to get the burnt rubber taste of the masnian out of his mouth over an hour later when the banquet finally ended. At Coran's silent urging, he had accepted a personal tour of the palace from Prince Ajax. Predictably, every point of interest was introduced with a short speech about how it wasn't as impressive or elaborate as a similar sight in the Castle of Lions. They had just reached a room lined with fairly impressive tapestries when King Ablen appeared. "Ah, Commander. I hope you are enjoying your tour. May I borrow my son for a moment?"

"Of course. I'll just…look at these."

"Yes, I won't keep Ajax but a moment." The king's smile was clearly forced, so Keith returned an equally strained one of his own. He moved toward the tapestry hanging closest to the exit the moment he heard raised voices in the hallway.

"You told me you had made a positive impression on her!"

"I thought I had, Father! She didn't dance with any other prince twice at the ball. And we walked together in the garden…it felt as if she we were making a connection."

"Then why did she send her underlings instead of coming herself?"

Though Keith bristled at the insult of being called an underling, he tried to focus on the scene in the tapestry. He would need some compelling question to ask about it when Prince Ajax returned to try and deflect any suspicion of eavesdropping, though he doubted the prince was savvy enough to entertain such thoughts. He missed whatever Prince Ajax had replied, hearing only King Ablen's much louder response, "Do I have to remind you how beneficial a liaison with Arus would be? You must…"

He missed whatever the prince 'must' as he finally saw the tapestry he was looking at. A bright white flash, what he imagined the one Lance had described during the destruction of Ikaria to look like, was emanating from a rounded dark object at the base of the scene, with people and animals falling dramatically away from it with terrified expressions. The light extended in a clear column to the bluish-purple blob in the sky that he assumed was the Qirillian Singularity. Black had been exceptionally skittish when their flight path had taken them close enough to run a quick scan of it before they had landed on Qirillon. Now that he thought about it, Keith wondered if his gut feeling had started at that point.

He was still staring at the tapestry when he felt someone approach. Assuming it was the prince, he said, "I thought you said ardillium couldn't be weaponized."

To his surprise, King Ablen answered, "As far as we know, it cannot."

"Then why is there an ardillium bomb exploding in this tapestry?"

"That?" The king laughed, but it sounded hollow. "No, that is the ancient Qirillian creation myth. Our ancestors believed the singularity to be the home of the gods, who sent the sacred vessel containing life to Qirillon."

"In my experience, most myths have some basis in reality."

"Life is full of new experiences, Commander."

Keith could feel King Ablen's eyes on him, so he turned to face him. "Forgive me, your highness, but everything I've heard so far about ardillium seems to indicate that it could be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands."

"Although we know that, in theory, an ardillium explosion could result in catastrophic damage, the containment apparatus alone makes such a proposition impossible. Any attempt to create such a weapon would result in the destruction of the aggressor. Now, if you will excuse me…"

"Tour over?"

King Ablen produced the same forced smile again. "I'm afraid my son is not feeling very well. I'm sure he would be willing to continue your tour tomorrow, after you and Ambassador Coran have seen one of our ardillium reactor sites, if you trust that we won't blow it up, that is."

"I'm looking forward to it." Keith bowed only through an effort of supreme will. He snapped a quick image of the tapestry with the camera Pidge had just added to the Voltcoms. He hoped things were going smoother back on Arus.

* * *

><p>Lance was both surprised and totally expecting to find that Allura's bed was exponentially comfier than his. Her mattress was springier, her pillows were fluffier, her sheets were softer – and, of course, she was wrapped around him as she slept, which seemed like a guarantee if he woke up in her bed but less so if he were in his own. He could already tell his arm was going to hurt like hell when feeling started to return, but it didn't seem worth waking her just to relieve a little numbness in his arm. If she wanted to use him as a pillow instead of one of the ones that belonged on her bed, that was just fine. He'd chew it off before causing the least disruption to her beautiful sleeping face.<p>

And there he went again. Not only were these thoughts not disturbing to him, but they were made all the more so by the fact that he didn't actually find them disturbing. He knew he was supposed to be terrified of commitment, running like the wind from any woman who wanted to be together for more than a month, much like the rest of his life. Yet here he was, treating this bonding thing like it was the best possible situation. It was like a switch had flipped in his head when he'd realized how much he loved Allura. He felt like accepting a huge change in life was supposed to be harder than this.

Instead, he was calmly inhaling the scent of her hair as she slept at his side, wishing that he could wake up here every day for the rest of his life. There was something else about her bed – she was so much more confident, taking the lead, initiating sex, guiding his touch where she wanted it. He wasn't sure he could chalk that up to experience, considering it was only their second night together. Well, second night and most of the previous afternoon.

They hadn't gotten far from bed after lunch – just a quick trip to the Control Room for an update on Keith and Coran's trip. Keith had been insistent that he look at a blurry picture of a tapestry that may or may not have depicted an ardillium explosion. In spite of how much the photo had creeped him out, Lance had tried to explain that he'd had more important things going on at the moment of the Ikaria explosion than appreciating the view, but Keith had a way of being so annoyingly persistent that he, Lance, had eventually conceded that the tapestry could be a record of a prior ardillium explosion.

Or whatever. Lance couldn't really equate thread with a real life explosion that had almost killed him.

Allura suddenly shifted in her sleep, releasing the pressure on his arm. Oh, ouch. He clenched his jaw to stop himself from crying out. There was only one reason he wanted to be shouting from her bed. He reached over with the arm that wasn't currently on fire to gently push a few stray locks of hair behind her ear. Her eyes fluttered open. "Mmm, morning."

"Hey, beautiful."

Her hand stroked up and down his stomach. "I want…"

He cursed his Voltcom for interrupting whatever it was she wanted. Still, with Keith off-planet, he couldn't just ignore it. Pidge better have something interesting to say. "Yeah, what?"

To his surprise, he was greeted by Gorma's clipped tones, "Commander McClain. Is Princess Allura with you?"

"Why?"

"The neurologist I contacted has arrived and I would like you both in the infirmary at your earliest convenience."

"Oh, right. Okay. Half an hour?" He tried to ignore the fact that Allura had climbed on top of him, but it was an impossible task. "Um…or an hour?"

She giggled and kissed his chest as Gorma signed off. A little over an hour and a shower later, they were shaking hands with some little kid named Dr. Linna Lunnen Gorma claimed was a neurologist from the northern campus of the University of Arus. Lance squirmed as she attached some kind of sensors to his temple shortly after separating him from Allura. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, the last time we weren't in the same room…"

Dr. Lunnen continued placing sensors. "Headaches, nausea, dizziness…yes, I've seen it enough times to know the symptoms. However, I need to see your brainscans independently and together. You should be all right for ten minutes, at least. And this way I can see the changes when we get you back together when they happen."

"Oh." He didn't really feel better in spite of her explanation. "Didn't expect a twelve year old to be so knowledgeable."

"I'm thirty-eight, Commander. But thank you."

"Seriously?" He caught himself before saying the cadets looked like they'd have seniority over her.

"It'd be pretty awkward to explain to my fourteen year old son if I weren't." She hooked him up to a monitor that started beeping. "I'm guessing you've experienced an increase in potency?"

"What?"

"More frequent erections, increased endurance and the like?"

"I wouldn't call it…I mean, I've always been…I just figured…" He wasn't about to admit to this random doctor that he'd never had so much sex in such a short period in his entire life. "I'm…I'm just more…inspired lately."

"Of course." She nodded and smiled in what he thought was a condescending way as she started making notes. "Just relax. As soon as you start to feel the symptoms of Separation Sickness, we'll bring the princess in."

Allura, complete with her own array of sensors and monitors, was crashing into his arms a few minutes later. Dr. Lunnen was watching with an air of amusement. "No matter how many times I see it, I can't get over how beautiful it is to see a bonding in action. Such interesting readings!"

"Glad we can entertain," Lance muttered, wishing everyone would leave the room as his hands ran down Allura's back. "Are we done?"

"Oh, hardly. Dr. Gorma has invited me to stay here at the castle for the course of your bonding. It's so rare that I can study the actual process! I mean, to see the transition as your physiology reinforces the changes in your brain chemistry!"

"Hold on." Lance held up the one hand he was willing to take off Allura. "Brain stuff?"

Lunnen smiled in the way she had that Lance was really starting to hate. "The reason you can't be apart for long is that you're both releasing pheromones to help reconfigure the other's brain patterns to better match your own."

"So she seduced me with her irresistible sex perfume?"

"Lance!" Allura slapped his chest, but didn't pull away.

"Well, more like you responded to her pheromones with some of your own and things went from there."

Lance didn't see the difference. "Are you saying we're together because of some freaky chemical coincidence? Because I find that hard to believe. At the risk of causing a whole lot of blushing," he raised an eyebrow at Allura, who looked away immediately, "nobody has sex as good as we do because of some Clorox and Windex.

Lunnen wasn't the one who blushed, though she did give him a funny look. "The bonding is driving your sexual connection, no question, but these things don't just happen out of nowhere. They take time to build. While it's rare to bond with someone when there's no preexisting intimate relationship, it's not as if you just met. This has likely been years in the making as you've become attuned to each other's signals and determined you'd be a good match. All subconscious, of course."

He scratched his head in the one spot not covered by a sensor or healing cut. "Doesn't sound very romantic."

"Nothing does when you break it down in scientific terms," Lunnen said with a shrug. "If it makes you feel better, we don't understand why some people are able to bond while others aren't, no matter how much they love each other. I guess you can say that love is independent of bonding, but bonding never happens in the absence of love. It appears dependent on a pheromone we haven't isolated yet."

"Still sounds a little science-y to me."

Allura, who had been quietly nuzzling into his chest for the past few minutes, suddenly spoke up, "Dr. Gorma said there was a treatment to sever a bond."

He felt his heart drop into his boots. "Uh…"

"It's a series of targeted electrical impulses designed to disrupt the bonding process." Lunnen was spinning dials and making notes at a pace that made him very nervous. "We have a high success rate."

"But if people who don't love each other can't bond, why does this treatment even exist?"

"Fear. Not everyone can handle the type of intimacy that follows a bonding. They find it intimidating."

Allura suddenly tightened her hold around him. "And if we don't want to sever our bond?" Lance immediately felt better with this question.

"Actually, I would warn you against it. The treatment is non-selective. If you sever the bond between the two of you, it's likely you'd also sever the one that exists between you and your Lions. I don't know if it could be reestablished." Lunnen was too consumed with her monitors to notice that lance had turned his full attention to Allura's lips. He still somehow heard her say, "The good news is that your compatibility is off the charts, so this should go smoothly as long as you stay close for the next five or six days."

Allura pulled back first. "Five? I thought Gorma said it takes ten."

"That's correct."

"But we've only…it's only been two days."

"Separation sickness never occurs before the fourth day. No matter when things got physical, your original bonding connection has existed for at least four days. Can you think of anything that may have triggered it?"

Lance looked at Allura. The ball had been four days ago. She had asked him to kiss her, her voice in his head. At the time, he had thought that, because he'd been drinking, he'd imagined it. But now… "Uh…maybe?"

"Okay, you don't have to tell me, but something did happen. Brainscans don't lie." Lunnen tapped one of the monitors. "You know, this is the first time I've had the opportunity to study bonding subjects who have already bonded with others."

"Others?"

"Your Lions, of course. Would it be possible to get the two of you in your Lions now? I have a hunch that the links you share with them may complement your new bond. It would really be a fascinating experiment."


	19. Chapter 19

Allura was not feeling particularly enthusiastic about being away from Lance, even to spend some time in Blue Lion. Dr. Lunnen had a theory that their connection would be maintained through the Lions' connections to each other, therefore eliminating the threat of Separation Sickness. Even so, she had really gotten used to his constant presence. She hovered beside him near Red's chute, holding his hand as Dr. Lunnen set up her monitoring equipment in the Control Room, connecting it through the holoscreens with technical help from Pidge and Vince and manual labor from Hunk. Vince kept shooting curious looks in their direction; Larmina wasn't even there, having opted to remain in the infirmary with Daniel to watch a movie. Allura hadn't spoken to her niece since the incident in the kitchen and she was starting to worry about how the conversation would go.

"Better than the one I'm gonna have with Keith," Lance suddenly said. She turned to him in alarm. "What?"

"How did you know I was thinking about talking with Larmina about us?"

"You didn't say that out loud?"

"I didn't think I did."

Suddenly, Dr. Lunnen was rushing toward them from across the room, gesturing excitedly on the portable tablet where she was keeping an eye on data from both of their sensors. "Telepathic contact! Did I just read that right?"

Lance looked worried. "Um…yes?"

The doctor applauded excitedly. "Ooh! And was it your first time?"

"No. It happened once before."

"Since we've been monitoring you?"

Allura shared a small smile with Lance before he answered, "Before that."

"Can I ask you to give it a try again? Lance, just try saying something to Princess Allura with only your mind."

"How do I…?"

"Okay, both of you just relax. Close your eyes and let it flow."

Almost as soon as she had shut her eyes, Allura felt Lance pulling her into an embrace. _We are not making out in front of all these people._

_Careful. The last time you got in my head and talked about kissing is what got all this started._

Her eyes shot open and she was reassured to find that he looked just as shocked as she felt. His voice in her head was the same as the one she was used to hearing, or maybe slightly deeper. Like his bedroom voice. She was about to see if she could get him to do it again when she was distracted by the odd little dance Dr. Lunnen was doing as she looked over the readings on her tablet. "A-_maz_-ing!"

Pidge was peering over her shoulder, trying to read the bouncing tablet. "Huh. I think I see some similarities between these readings and the ones produced by the nexus when Voltron is fully formed."

"Really? Could I see?"

She and Pidge disappeared behind one of the holoscreens, talking in excited tones. Allura was about to attempt another silent conversation with Lance when Vince and Hunk approached. Lance dropped his arm from her shoulders but interlaced his fingers with hers instead. "So…"

Hunk held up his hands. "No need to explain. We're all adults here. Mostly."

"Yeah, Vince, about the other day…" Lance started, but Allura could feel him searching for what to say.

She took it upon herself. "We should have been more discreet. And we certainly should not have been in the kitchen. So we're sorry if we made you uncomfortable. Both of us."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," Lance mumbled.

"Oh, it's fine." For his part Vince looked equally ill at ease. "From what Dr. Lunnen has been saying, you guys are going through some kind of brain realignment that, um…and were you really just talking to each other telepathically?"

"Yeah. Apparently we do that now."

Hunk clapped Lance on the shoulder. "Sounds like Lion chat, but with people."

"Lion chat?" Vince asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It happens once you've bonded with your Lion. Yellow's got great taste in music, but tells really long, kinda pointless stories. Don't tell him I told you."

"Can you talk to each other's Lions?"

"Nope, just yours. It's a bonding thing."

Vince shrank away from Lance. "I thought that's what you and Allura were doing."

Allura sighed and took the coward's way out. "There's an old story called _The Hearts of Lions_ in the castle library if you…"

"We're ready to go!" Pidge interrupted from across the room. "I'll be monitoring the Lions from here, so just do what you'd normally do."

"Normal? Is he kidding?" Lance whispered as she rose to her tiptoes to kiss him briefly before walking toward Blue's chute. She was nervous and glanced back toward him before descending. He was waiting for her before he left. Just before he jumped, he winked. _Down the rabbit hole._

_You mean into the lion's den?_

_I'll explain after we…_

His voice was abruptly cut off when they simultaneously went down their respective chutes. Although she knew Separation Sickness didn't take hold for at least ten minutes, she was still feeling slightly nauseous. She felt better when Blue began to purr the moment she arrived in the cockpit. She sat in her pilot's chair but didn't take hold of the controls. Concentrating, she said to Blue, _Are you feeling all right?_

_Love. I feel love. _The purring grew louder. _Love everywhere. _

The cockpit seemed to be getting warmer. _Love? Love from where?_

_Him. Love from him. You need love from him. _

Allura glanced at her vidscreen, where Lance had popped up, looking worried. "Um, is Blue acting a little weird?"

_Love. Love. Love. LOVE. _Blue began to shudder from how hard she was purring.

"She's…yes."

"What?" She was about to tell him she hadn't said anything when he went on, "I'm not telling her you said that. Well of course I agree, but… Okay, fine! Red wants me to tell you he thinks you have a great ass."

"Oh. Tell him…thank you?"

Blue's purring increased even more. _Love you here?_

Allura was starting to become very concerned about her formerly calm and cool Lion. "What?"

_Red's pilot will love you here._

Dr. Lunnen was suddenly sharing a split screen with Lance. "These readings are off the scales! I've never seen anything like this before. I can clearly see where you're talking to your Lions, but are you able to communicate with each other?"

Allura tried to concentrate, to find Lance in her head, but Blue was too much. _Love here! Love here!_

"Shut up!" Lance suddenly shouted, very much out loud. "I can't think with you doing that!"

"Princess Allura?" Dr. Lunnen exclaimed with a scandalized expression.

"No, Red! Why would I tell Allura to shut up?"

Allura smiled in spite of the fact that she was starting to get a headache from Blue's constant mental barrage.

Pidge sounded less excited than Dr. Lunnen had when he appeared on the screen. "Are you sure everything's okay down there? I'm getting some really weird readings from the Lions. I've never seen anything like this from them before, not even from the breached nexus."

"Yeah, I think we might keep them in their dens," Lance said. "I'm feeling like Red may not pay much attention to me if I get him up at the moment."

_Fly to her!_ An unfamiliar voice, deep and insistent, was suddenly in Allura's head. _Mate! Bring her here! Mate here now!_

"Lance, what was…?"

Blue growled in response, _No, he will love you here!_

"Okay, I think I just heard Blue in my head and Red's definitely getting over-excited." Lance was looking directly at her through the screen, not needing telepathy to communicate that he was freaking out. "I'm headed back to the Control Room now."

"I'll see you there."

She sprinted from the cockpit, ignoring Blue's further demands to return immediately with Lance. She was holding him in the middle of the Control Room a few minutes later, breathing him in to slow her heartbeat. Even when she had first been learning to fly, she had never felt less control over her Lion. It was more frightening now that it was over. She could hear Pidge somewhere in the background saying something about the Lions returning to normal the moment they had left them, but it was no guarantee that they would get back to their normal relationships with their Lions.

_They were fighting over us._

She nodded into Lance's neck to acknowledge him. She just wanted to curl up beside him and forget the past minutes had ever happened. It would be more than a fair trade if she had to give up Blue to keep Lance. _I love you_.

He wasn't in her head, so she looked up. His attention was focused across the room to where Pidge was now arguing with Dr. Lunnen about the implications of the readings they had recorded. "I don't think it's safe to send them back down right now."

"I didn't mean now, I meant after their bond had stabilized further. If you think it would be best to wait on the process to complete itself, I won't argue. You're the expert on the Lions. I'm just thankful for _any_ data."

The doctor's appeasing tone seemed to work on Pidge. "Okay. Because I really don't think they should be in the Lions until…"

Lance was halfway across the Control Room before Allura was truly aware he had pulled away from her. "Hold on, did you just say we can't fly for the next five days?"

Pidge shrank back slightly, pushing his glasses up his nose nervously. "I think it will be safer that way. Vince and Larmina can take them out if we have an emergency."

Dr. Lunnen patted Lance's arm. "I'm sure once you and Princess Allura have completed your bonding, things will go back to normal with your Lions. I just didn't anticipate the way the lack of stability in your bond would affect the one between…oh!" She stepped back as he brushed her off.

He strode across the room again, this time toward Vince, stopping in front of him and standing almost at full attention. "Vince. You've got Red for the next…" His throat worked as he swallowed hard and held out his key. "You've got him for a while."

Vince stared for a moment at the key that had been dropped into his hands. "I'll take good care of him."

"I know, cadet."

To Allura's surprise, he turned on his heel and walked toward the exit. She took the first steps to follow him. _Lance…_

_Not now._

He left without another word or thought, leaving her too stunned to respond.


	20. Chapter 20

Lance was feeling shaky and exhausted by the time he emerged from his chute into the Control Room. Red had never felt so wildly out of control, not even during their first few flights. He couldn't go through that every time they needed to scramble for the Lions, so he was almost thankful when he handed his key over to Vince. The anger didn't start until the key was actually out of his hands. This bonding thing was a huge mistake. He shut Allura out of his mind as he left the Control Room, yanking of the brain sensors and dropping them as he walked.

He had been such a moron. He had been waiting for instinct to kick in and set off some kind of 'terror in the face of commitment' alarm, but this…_this_… It had taken Red going all caveman for him to realize it and now he was afraid it was too late. Everyone assumed she had initiated the bonding because she was Arusian, but he knew it hadn't happened that way at all. The more he thought about it, the guiltier he felt. He was the one who was always fantasizing about her, making inappropriate contact. He had given her the alcohol the night their bonding had apparently started. Even if she had sent out some kind of signals, she hadn't been in her right mind and it was all his fault. He had taken advantage of her. He had…_violated_ her. He felt sick.

Now it didn't matter how much he loved her. He and Allura should never have gotten together. Now there was only one solution and it was going to cost him everything.

Worse, he knew she had followed him out of the Control Room. He was going to have to confess what he'd done and hope she didn't hate him. He could feel her getting closer. Hopelessly, he ducked into an unfamiliar room that turned out to be a linen closet. There was no lock on the door to stop her from joining him inside a few moments later. She wrapped her arms around him with a smile. "Is everything okay?"

He made an effort not to pull her close and never let her go. Now or never. "We shouldn't be doing this."

"You're right, someone might walk in." She was kissing his neck as she said, "Let's go back to my room so we can…"

"No." He pulled gently on her arms to end her embrace. "I meant…we should take the treatment to sever the bond."

Her reaction was akin to electric shock. "What?"

"We should…we should find Dr. Lunnen so she can set it up." He began to pace in the small room. "We should probably do it as soon as possible."

"No! Where is this coming from? Lance…"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because my Lion is freaking out and demanding I fuck you in his cockpit right now while yours wants the same thing in a less aggressive way and we're only together because of weird sex chemicals and I don't like feeling like I've been manipulated or that I've taken advantage of a woman who deserves better and…" He stopped ranting when he ran out of breath. He was about to continue when he turned to look at her and froze.

Tears streamed freely down her face and she was making no effort to wipe them away. Her voice was in his head, _You…you don't love me._

He meant to say, 'No, I don't,' but if came out of his mouth as, "Of course I love you! I'm crazy about you!"

"Then why are you…" She closed her eyes for a moment and seemed to collect herself. "Even if you don't love me, I know you love Red. You can't give up being the Red Lion."

"Yes, I can. I can hand Red over to Daniel and leave Arus if it means I'm not hurting you anymore."

"Hurting me? _Hurting_ me? You think that you could possibly do anything that would hurt me more than _leaving_?"

"I'm sorry!" This was harder than he had expected. "I swear, I'm trying to fix this! I'm trying to do the right thing!"

"Then stop talking about leaving! By the gods, you get grounded for five days and _this_ is your response? You have a temper tantrum and threaten to leave the planet forever?"

"This has nothing to do with…I'm not throwing a tantrum!" He stamped his foot to make his point.

"Then, what? What happened in Red to make you change your mind about us?"

"It wasn't…I…Red wasn't acting like himself and I thought about how different you've been over the past few days and…" He wished they weren't in such a confined space. He needed somewhere to flee when he confessed what he had done. "The problem is I don't know how much of this is what _you_ feel and how much of it is some kind of…I think I conned you into a relationship with some kind of voodoo brain juice, and I never meant to do anything you didn't want, but…"

"Lance, what are you…?"

"Please, just listen. I've always wanted you, but I'm not stupid. I knew it could never happen. It's only the past few days that that's changed. I know everyone is saying that I had a reaction to your pheromone stuff, but…what if it was the other way around? What if I tricked you into sleeping with me, even if I didn't know I was doing it?"

"No! I love you, Lance. I _love_ you. And I trust the way I feel."

"How can you? Dr. Lunnen keeps babbling about pheromones and changes in brain chemistry. How do you know that didn't suddenly make you think you're in love with me?"

"Lance, I've always…"

"I'm sure that's what you believe now, with the crazy brain weirdness going on, but, look, I'm just saying that up until you asked me to kiss you in the garden four days ago, I had no idea you saw me as anything but a teammate who took a few more liberties with our friendship than any of the other guys. I mean, sure, I probably flattered myself into thinking you were seeing hot, sexy piece of ass every time you looked at me, but… I think I started this. It's my fault. And I took advantage of you. I crossed so far over the line that I…I can't ever make it up to you, but please believe that I'm so sorry, Allura."

To his surprise, the hand she laid on his cheek wasn't a slap. "Look at me, Lance." She was now holding his face between her palms. He knew she wouldn't let go until he obeyed, so he met her serious green eyes. "You have nothing to apologize for. Dr. Lunnen said that people who don't love each other can't bond."

"Just because she said it doesn't mean…"

"None of this could happen if we hadn't started it ourselves. _We_, Lance. " She suddenly let him go and started her own bout of pacing. "And you know what? I'm getting a little tired of you talking about how hard it was for _you_, just knowing that you could never be with me. Do you know the kind of men I've had available? They're the ones we spent the days after balls mocking, the pompous assholes who looked at me and only saw power that they wanted for themselves, men who didn't know me and didn't love me but still thought they could marry me just because they had the right title. And one of them would have if I hadn't decided that I'm going be with the man _I_ want."

He was starting to feel like a bigger jerk than when he'd nearly convinced himself that he had forced himself on her. "Wait, so…"

"Yes! Yes, you big idiot! Did you honestly think you were the only one pining after someone you didn't think you could ever be with?"

"I never…I mean, you never…"

"Because I didn't understand that I could! After you had left Arus…I couldn't look at another man without thinking he wasn't as handsome, or as funny or charming, or…none of them were you, and it made me crazy. When you were gone – the team, I mean – after Wade outlawed Voltron, I missed you. And it was really specific things that I missed. Pidge wasn't here to explain scientific problems and Hunk wasn't here to make me smile and Keith wasn't here to remind me to keep my stance open. But you…you just weren't _here_. It wasn't just that I missed your sarcasm or flying tips or the way you looked at me when you thought I wasn't paying attention…I wanted you to be here. I realized that I liked having everyone else around, but I needed you." In his head, she added, _I loved you for so long without even realizing it._

In spite of the overwhelming sense of relief he felt, he muttered petulantly, "When I brought the cadets you didn't even hug me when I got off the shuttle."

"I know."

"Everybody else got hugs." She rolled her eyes, but he still added, "I think Keith got two."

"Lance, I don't know why I never told you that I… That's not true. I do know. I was scared. I thought you would laugh or, worse, tell me the same thing Coran does – that I belong with a prince. I was scared right up until the moment you kissed me in the garden and everything was so…right. Then you nearly died in that explosion and…" Tears welled in her eyes again. "Not knowing was suddenly a lot scarier than finding out."

"So…" Lance leaned against the soft towels at his back. "We could have saved ourselves a whole lot of crap if we'd talked about this a long time ago, huh?"

"When I think about all the times I wanted to kiss you…" She leaned into his chest. "Did you really think you tricked me into having sex with you?"

Even though he was convinced at this point, he still asked, "You're totally sure I didn't?"

"Absolutely sure." She pressed him into the stack of towels on the shelf behind him. "Do you still want to sever our bond?"

"No, I..." _I never want to be away from you._

_Then don't fight it. Don't be stupid._

_Like, ever?_

Her laughter in his head was even better than he could have hoped._ I love you._

_I love you._ He felt towels falling around his head as she pushed him further into the linens with the intensity of their kiss. _Hey, with this telepathy stuff, we can chitchat and make out at the same time._

_That's my Lance._ An image of the secluded waterfall in the nearby forest was suddenly in his head, along with Allura suggesting, _Let's get out of here for a little while._


	21. Chapter 21

Larmina wasn't paying attention to the movie, but Daniel's reactions to it. He was providing her entertainment and, more important, distraction at the moment. Technically, she was supposed to be on duty in the Control Room with Vince, but she had begged out of it after learning it involved something going on with Lance and her Aunt Allura. She had been doing a pretty good job of avoiding them in person since the kitchen incident, but it was completely impossible not to hear about what they were doing with the whole castle talking. The last thing she wanted to hear about was her aunt's sex life; that was just _wrong_.

"Oh, that is so what Voltron would sound like if he talked!" Daniel suddenly exclaimed.

She shook her head. It was hard to believe he could be so into the old movie about sentient transforming robots from the collection that Hunk had brought him from Earth. She had tried to explain that this was just silly, considering they spent every single day around a giant robot, in addition to a smaller one of their own. He had given her a look that clearly said she was missing something vitally important. At least now she knew where he'd come up with the idea of calling Awesometron 'Voltronimus Prime.'

She decided to try one last time. "Okay, the car chases and stuff are cool, but I just don't see why you like this! Can't we go back to one of those movies with the sword fighting? Now _that_ was cool."

"While I won't deny that sword fighting is pretty cool…" he trailed off as the door opened. "Vince! Explain to Larmina why this is an awesome movie."

She looked toward him, ready to argue with whatever he came out with, but decided against it. "Wow, Vince. You look like King Alfor just popped in on you in the bathroom!"

"That may have been less weird." He held up his Voltcom to show them a new addition.

Larmina pretended not to notice how Daniel's eyes lit up. "Is that…?"

Vince nodded, still looking shocked. "Red Lion's key. Lance can't fly for something like the next week."

"Why not?"

"There's some kind of problem with Lance, Allura and their Lions. Larmina, you're going to be in Blue."

"Stupid leg," Daniel groused. "You guys are going to get solo time in the Lions while I'm stuck here with my leg tied in a torture brace."

Larmina shrugged; she would have been fine with him getting his own Lion key. "At least they didn't have to amputate."

"Gee, thanks. Now I feel so much better." He rolled his eyes and turned up the volume on the movie. "Can we get back to this? This is the good part."

"You keep saying that, but I still haven't seen why…"

"Hey, Larmina," Vince interrupted her. "You're Arusian."

"Um, duh?"

"Well, I just figured you'd know something about bonding, right?"

"Bonding?" She laughed derisively. "Have you been reading old Arusian romances? Between those and this dumb movie, it's amazing you two have any higher brain function."

"What? No! It's just that there's some neurologist lady here using Lance and Allura as lab rats to study bonding. I was just wondering if you knew what…"

Larmina shot out of her chair, drawing a cry from Daniel as she bumped his injured leg in her haste. "They're _bonding_?"

"Uh, that's what they said. They've got some kind of telepathic connection going and it was really screwing with the Lions."

"This is insane! They…they can't!" She realized that she was holding her staff and deactivated her Voltcom. That was a habit she really needed to work on. "Aunt Allura and Lance just can't!"

Daniel was shaking his head in a bemused way. "It's funny, because before I met everyone, I always assumed it would be Keith dating Allura. I mean, leader of the Voltron Force and the ruler of Arus? That just made sense."

"They're not dating!"

She saw Daniel and Vince exchange a look. Daniel said, "Well, it may not be dating, but they sure sound like they're _together_. I have to congratulate Lance next time he comes to visit."

"Don't be disgusting."

"What? He deserves it! Allura is _hot_!"

"If you don't stop it now, I'm going to break your other leg."

"Come on, Larmina. It's not like she's that much older than we are. What, like six or seven years?"

"It's not about that! She's my aunt. And the Crown Princess of Arus! The heir to the throne! She's not allowed to do things like this! Coran is gonna be so mad when he finds out."

Daniel still didn't seem to understand how serious this was, any more than she got his giant robot movie. "Can you imagine how annoying Lance would be as king? I mean, he's bad enough as a flight instructor, but King Lance?"

"You have to admit it has a nice ring to it." Larmina snapped her head around to see Lance smirking from the door of Daniel's room. Aunt Allura was standing behind him, looking no less amused. "Although I'd hate for us to get ahead of ourselves."

She lost her temper, reactivating the staff from her Voltcom. "Why not? If you're bonding with Aunt Allura you're obviously going to marry her. Then what?"

Lance seemed unfazed by her anger. "And then they lived happily ever after?"

"This is…you can't…" she trailed off in sputtering anger, giving her staff a threatening spin.

"Larmina, could I speak with you for a moment?"

She deactivated her staff based solely on her aunt's commanding tone. "Sorry," she muttered, edging past a still smiling Lance in the doorway. She could hear him laughing with Daniel and Vince as she walked away, which only made her madder. Her staff was in her hand again when she walked through the door of the waiting room they'd occupied while Daniel had been in surgery.

Aunt Allura had her arms folded and was standing in the center of the room, projecting that regal aura Larmina never wanted to copy; every attempt she'd made in front of the mirror in her room had been a total failure anyway. She had never even tried the voice that went with it, which she was hearing now. "Well. Should I be armed as well?"

Larmina scowled, but once again deactivated her staff. "I'm not calling him Uncle Lance."

"Fair enough." She uncrossed her arms and sat down on one of the sofas, again becoming just Aunt Allura. "First, I need to apologize to you. Lance and I were not behaving appropriately in the kitchen the other night and I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable."

"Oh." She shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "Okay. Right."

"Secondly, I need to…"

"Oh, no. I do _not_ need to hear about how when a man and a woman love each other very much, they…"

"Larmina…"

"I mean, I know you're bonding and that's a big deal, but that doesn't mean I want to hear about…"

"Could you behave like a lady and not a spoiled child for a moment?" Aunt Allura was holding out her key to the Blue Lion. "I suppose you've heard that I can't fly Blue while Lance and I are bonding."

"Oh. This is just for a few days, right?"

"Hopefully."

Larmina pushed the key into her Voltcom. She was unable to hold her tongue, though. "Did you know that this king on Earth a couple hundred years ago married a commoner and they made him abdicate the throne?"

"So?"

"So? SO? Lance isn't exactly a prince! What if you have to abdicate? You know who's next in line, don't you?"

Aunt Allura laughed – actually laughed! "Is that what you're worried about?"

"If you marry Lance and can't be crowned queen…Aunt Allura, I don't want to be queen! It's bad enough being Lady Larmina! I mean, I get that diplomacy is important, but I still say the wrong thing and…can you imagine how many planets would be in line to attack Arus if I were in charge? I'd totally kick all their asses, but…"

"Larmina, do you know what the best thing about being the sole heir to the throne is?"

"Um, what?"

"No one can argue with you once you've made a decision." She walked out with a wink and a smirk.

Larmina felt a little strange as she watched her walk out of the infirmary hand in hand with Lance a moment later, saying something about a waterfall. She glanced at the key, newly added to her Voltcom. "If anyone tries to make this permanent, I'm breaking my own leg," she muttered to herself before returning to Daniel and Vince.

Daniel gave her a triumphant look. "Lance agrees with us that this is an awesome movie."

She rolled her eyes. "Boys are so stupid. I have no idea what Aunt Allura sees in one of you."


	22. Chapter 22

Allura was fairly certain that Lance was going so fast through the trees on the hovercycle to get her to get her to hold on to him tightly, but he had to be feeling like she was about to break his ribs at this point. And he was obviously taking the longest route possible to Silvanus Falls. "If you don't slow down…"

"What?"

"I said if you don't slow down, I'll…"

"Can't hear you!" He turned to fix her with an infuriating grin and got his head back around just in time to miss being hit in the face by a low branch. _Close one._

She would have kicked herself if not for the deathgrip her thighs had on the seat. _If you don't slow down, I'm waiting until you get naked, then stealing your clothes and the bike and going back to the castle._

_Like you really wanna share naked me with the whole planet. _He took a few more dangerous swerves between trees. _Bet I could do pretty well as a nude model._

_I'm sure you could. Of course, if you want to see__** me **__naked ever again, you should probably stop going in circles and head to the falls._

He immediately accelerated, which was all the more alarming because she had thought he had already been going top speed. She buried her face in his back as he swung the bike around a large tree trunk. She was thrown against him as he hit the brakes not long afterwards. "We're here."

She remained where she was for a moment, eyes squeezed shut as she gradually loosened her hold on him. "You jerk."

"Don't have to. You're here." He moved her hand to his lap, where something had gotten him awfully excited.

"Is that from driving like a crazy man the entire way here?"

"Nope. From thinking about what I was gonna do once I got here." He made a move like he was going to kiss her, but the angle was off with them both still sitting on the bike and he got her on the ear.

"Ugh, Lance." Using his shoulders as a support, she climbed down. He was standing behind her, pulling her against his body before she could turn around. She had no idea how he had moved so fast. Or how he had gotten through the top layer of her clothing so quickly. He began to kiss her neck as he caressed her breast through the tank top she wore under her flight suit. She reached up to run her fingers through his hair. "Are you sure you should be swimming with your cuts still healing?"

"You didn't seem too concerned about it in the shower."

"I…" The sun was warm on her suddenly bare shoulders. She felt her Voltcom unclasp as he pulled her sleeves down. She turned in his arms to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "How do you always get my clothes off before I can start on yours?"

"Easy." He suddenly pressed his lips against hers, his tongue teasing in and out of her mouth. _I distract you and then…_

She gasped as she felt her pants slide down over her hips. Pulling back, she shoved his hands away. "Wait! Before we go any further, get out the towels I asked the staff to pack."

He frowned, but complied as she picked up both of their Voltcoms and his leather jacket; apparently she'd been doing a better job undressing him than she'd realized. As she reattached her Voltcom and configured it to its smallest size, she noted the zipper on the front of his flight suit was also down. He lightly scratched his toned abs and beckoned to her from beside the hovercycle. "Uh…Allura?"

By the time she got a look in the cargo compartment under the seat, he had already removed several parcels of food. Just before departing for the falls, she had remembered that she needed to give the Blue Lion key to Larmina. In the time it had taken to walk up to the infirmary to do so, the castle staff had managed to pack the cargo compartment under the seat of the bike with towels, food, drinks and… "They even put a blanket and some robes in here!"

"It's because they love their princess. And since their princess loves me, I get in on those benefits." He took the blanket from her hands and spread it out, letting it billow in the light breeze before laying it on the grass. "They are good. We didn't even have to ask for lunch this time." He sat down on the blanket and started opening the tightly wrapped parcel labeled 'sandwiches.' "So this will be our second date set up by your people. Does this mean I'm winning the popular vote?"

"Arus is a monarchy." She sat beside him, slipping her hand inside the open zipper low on his stomach and running her fingers down the thin trail of hair that started at his navel. "I thought you had other things on your mind."

He had some difficulty swallowing the large bite he'd just taken from his sandwich. "You told me to stop taking your clothes off. And then there was food." His eyes got big as she drew her hand back in order to pull her tank top over her head. "But I can eat later."

Afterwards, she pulled the nearest piece of fabric over their bare bodies as they enjoyed the afterglow, snuggling against his side as he held her. "Mmm. I can't believe we only have a few more days of this."

"Huh?"

"Bonding is supposed to increase our sexual desire to encourage us to stay close."

He gave a snort of laughter. "Like I'm gonna stop wanting you all the time just because we're not bonding. We'll be bonded instead of bonding, so, um…like now but more? Yeah, I don't know." He absently traced circles on her shoulder with his finger. "Isn't this the robe you were wearing the other night?"

"Is it?"

He seemed more interested in pushing it off her again. "Think so. We lost it on the way back to my room."

As it had so many times in the past few days, the memory of their first time came back to her in a rush. She could still feel the anticipation, the nerves, the excitement. Had it really only been a few days? It was hard to believe. And it all felt so natural, a progression that no amount of fear or uncertainty could have prevented. She stretched her neck to press her lips against his. "Want to go for a swim?"

He picked up the sandwich he had started eating before she had offered him something more tempting. "In a minute. But not in forty-five, like you're supposed to wait."

"What?"

"Earth rules. You're not supposed to go swimming after you eat." He didn't bother putting any clothes on, but pulled a towel into his lap to use as a table.

She slipped into her robe and tied it loosely around her waist as she stood to retrieve the bottle of champagne someone had packed for them. "Not that I'm complaining, but why do they keep giving us this?"

"Someone probably defined it to one of the cooks as mystical Earth romance juice when it arrived. As a joke, I'm sure." He coughed on another overly large bite. "More importantly, where can I hide it in the future so no one finds it?"

Allura pressed her thumbs against the underside of the cork to no avail. "How do you…?"

"Here." Using only one thumb, he managed to uncork the bottle with a pop she was beginning to get used to. "Takes the magic touch."

"Well, I certainly won't argue that you have _that_."

He hand was damp from the champagne bottle as he caressed her thigh through the open folds of her robe. "Let's hurry up and eat. I have fantasies to fulfill."

"Such as?"

An image of them embracing under the cascade of the waterfall suddenly filled her head. _Oh, my. _

_Been dreaming about that one for quite a while. _

_And now you want to make your dreams come true? _She stood and let her robe fall to the ground. Turning away from his appreciative stare, she started walking toward the water. She realized she hadn't actually looked at the waterfall or the pool it created since arriving on the hovercycle. Lance was more distracting than she wanted to admit. It really was a beautiful spot, created where a brook flowed over a short cliff on its way to Lake Arus. She paused at the water's edge to look over her shoulder. "Coming?"

He was still watching from his seat on the blanket. "Huh? Oh, sorry. Just one of those hate to see you go but love to watch you leave things. You should saunter around naked more often. Very sexy."

_Impossible. _She shook her head and turned with a smile. The water was cool as she stepped into it. The pool deepened rapidly and she was soon swimming over darkening blue as she moved toward the falls. She dove underneath the water as it fell in a gentle mist before concentrating into a stronger flow. Her feet again found the bottom when she was behind the sheet of falling water. _Lance?_

_Hm?_

_Where are…_ "Aaah!" She jumped backward as he suddenly burst through the waterfall and swept her into his arms. "Don't _do_ that!"

"Couldn't resist." He supported her on his thighs as he half-floated in a sitting position just behind the falls. She could feel his arousal pressing against her. "You and water is a good combination. Serious turn-on."

"I can feel that."

He ground against her, not trying to enter her yet. "I think this is the closest you can get to zero gravity without a ship. Also, we totally need to get into orbit in a ship where we can turn off the artificial gravity. I've heard…things."

She silenced him with a deep kiss. _Don't get ahead of yourself._ She moaned into his mouth as she felt him reposition her. _What are you waiting…_ She pulled back from their kiss as she gasped with his sudden push inside her. He didn't begin to move right away. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she squeezed her internal muscles, wanting every last millimeter of him filling her.

"Whoa, calm down, beautiful. You're gonna make it look like I have no staying power," he whispered into her ear before tugging her lobe with his teeth. A few short strokes were followed by a building rhythm of longer ones. She worked against him, unselfconsciously moaning and sighing with the sensations of his thrusts and the touch of his hands kneading her ass, Voltcom digging in almost uncomfortably, while his lips and tongue explored her breasts, water swirling around them all the while. _Oh, Allura…_

She felt herself starting to lose her breath as she gasped, "Out loud."

"What?"

"My name…"

She felt his cheeks contract in a smile against her chest. "Allura…I love you, Allura."

"Oh, Lance, I…" she was cut off by her own cry of pleasure and clasped him as tightly as possible, riding through the waves of both their fulfillment. She collapsed into him, thankful for the buoyancy of the water; she didn't think she could stand right now unless she absolutely had to.

He was back in her head a moment later. _You are amazing._ He looked up and met her eyes. "Allura."

_I love the way you say my name._

_Then I won't stop. _"Allura."

_Oh, Lance. _She giggled. He was making his way from her chest back to her mouth, stopping every few seconds to suck at her skin. "Did it scare you when Larmina mentioned our getting married?"

He suddenly froze. "Did you hear something?"

"How can you hear anything over the water?"

"I thought I heard a voice."

"These are all protected castle grounds, so I don't think there would be any visitors."

He tightened his hold on her. "Oh, but it's not, like, a secret?"

"I don't think anyone will be casually strolling by, if that's what you mean."

A shout came from somewhere around the area where they had left their things and she realized he wasn't just being evasive. "Princess Allura? Commander McClain?"

Lance found his voice before Allura did hers. "Dr. Lunnen?"

The doctor's voice rang through the glade, "Oh, there you are. Whew! I've been hiking for over an hour! Pidge figured out a way for me to read your brainscans through the biometrics on your Voltcoms, so you don't have to wear the sensors anymore."

"We're not wearing the sensors."

"But you _are_ wearing your Voltcoms! Combination tracking device and brain scanner!"

Lance pushed off the bottom, bobbing them further behind the waterfall. "We're, uh, a little busy."

"Still? Hm, these calibrations must be off then. I thought you'd both climaxed already. But don't let me interrupt."

For the first time in her life, Allura seriously considered invoking her royal privilege to imprison a person indefinitely without trial. "You were watching us make love?"

"Just your brains," Dr. Lunnen called out, seeming completely unfazed. "You haven't reached the shared experiences milestone yet. Can't wait to see the data when you do!"

Allura shuddered as Lance pulled away and poked his head through the waterfall. He reappeared a moment later, frowning. "She's sitting on our blanket, looking at that tablet thing she has."

"So she isn't leaving anytime soon?"

"Not unless we…"

Dr. Lunnen's voice suddenly rang out again, "Can I try on your crown?"

"NO!" Allura shouted back, tempted to start randomly shooting arrows through the waterfall.

"Sorry, that was crossing the line."

Allura rolled her eyes. _Oh, __**that**__ was crossing the line._

_Is she just going to keep siting there?_

"Oh! You're talking! This is so amazing. When I submit my paper on you two…anonymous subjects, of course, but…"

_You're the princess! Threaten her or something!_

She wrapped herself back around him, enjoying his body heat in the cool water. _We could try ignoring her._

_I can't with someone watching._

She smiled and unclasped his Voltcom before doing the same with her own. Snapping them together, she tossed both through the falls. "We'll see you back at the castle, doctor."


	23. Chapter 23

Lance took several deep breaths while treading in the center of the pool. His ears couldn't take too many more of these rapid pressure changes. Allura suddenly broke the surface a few feet away, taking a gasping breath. _Anything?_

He shook his head. _Why did you think they would float?_

_I don't know! But they should._

_Yeah, we'll get Pidge working on that if we ever find them._

He got her annoyed narrowed eyes he was never going to tell her he found sexy, for fear she'd stop doing it. _At least Vince and Larmina have our Lion keys._

Lance felt like he'd finally regained enough air to speak out loud. "Okay. I'm going back down."

"I just need a minute." She still sounded breathless, so he didn't try to push it. Taking a final deep breath, he dove toward the bottom of the pool some twenty feet below, where their Voltcoms were presumably sitting after Allura had gotten frustrated with Dr. Lunnen. He had to admit, he'd appreciated the gesture at the time. He'd never suffered from performance anxiety, but he didn't want to put that to the test with an audience, either. And the nosy doc _had_ left as soon as her lab rats had rebelled.

His outstretched hands suddenly dug into the sandy bottom. In spite of how clear the water up above was, it was a nightmare of sediment stirred up by the falls down here at the bottom. Sweeping his arms around in what felt like a futile arc, he searched until his lungs were near the bursting point. Just as he was about to give up on this trip and head back to the surface and its delicious oxygen, his fingers grazed something. Gripping it, he pushed off the bottom and kicked toward the surface as fast as his legs could take him. He realized just how low he was on air when he didn't hang beneath Allura as she continued treading above him. Her creamy skin took on an almost translucent quality in the bluish, watery light. She was like a mermaid with legs. Or something. His lungs contracted uncomfortably, reminding him that he'd promised himself not to spend any time under Allura. Not until he was out of the water, anyway.

He surged upward through the water, too breathless even to pronounce his triumph in her head. Instead he held up his hand to show off his prize.

_Lance! _

Because his panting was so loud in his own head, he wasn't sure if she was angry that he wasn't, in fact, holding up their Voltcoms or excited that he'd found some kind of silver forearm thingy that sort of looked like a Voltcom instead. Wait, what? _Uhhh…_

She had swum over to him and grabbed it from his hand before he was able to say or think anything more coherent. Things were obviously going a little more clearly in her fully oxygenated brain. He concentrated on breathing as she examined his find. She was undeniably excited when she looked up. "Do you have any idea when you've found?

"Well, not our Voltcoms. But…something good?"

"This is…I think this is part of King Storos' lost armor!"

"Right."

"Look here!" She pointed to a raised figure that covered most of the outside of the oversized bracelet. "What does that look like to you?"

He looked, then did a double-take as he actually did recognize the image. "Well, it's Red. But that doesn't mean anything. Everything on Arus is Lion-y."

"Okay, I know you're not taking Arusian History with the cadets, but even you should know this." She looked at him expectantly. He shrugged and gave her what he hoped was an endearingly dumb grin. "Storos is one of my ancestors from hundreds of years ago."

"Yeah, I've noticed you've got a bunch of those. I mostly remember King Alfor because he's, y'know, sort of still around." Lance suddenly felt like he was back at the bottom of the pool, running out of air. "Oh, crap. Does he know I'm sleeping with you? Is he gonna haunt me?"

"He knows we love each other and I think he's fine with it, but that's not important right now."

_I think it's important._

_It is, just not in this context. _"Storos was the last king of Arus to pilot the Red Lion."

Lance decided he was going to have a long talk with his Lion once Red stopped acting like a crazed sex-fiend. "Don't…wouldn't kings pilot Black?"

"The kings who have been Voltron pilots have been just like us, bonding with the Lion they felt a connection with. Only Blue has never been piloted by a king of Arus."

"Been saving herself for the first Lion Queen, huh?" Using only his legs to keep his head above water, he ran his hands over her body. Disappointingly, she didn't return his caresses. "Uh, so this old armor is cool and all, but shouldn't we still be looking for our Voltcoms?"

"Yes! I have to talk to Pidge to get a team out here with diving gear to search the pool for the rest of the armor!"

Lance felt unexpectedly protective about their quiet little spot in the forest. It was bad enough Dr. Lunnen had found them there, but if a whole invasion of treasure hunting archeology-types showed up…they'd never be able to make love under the waterfall again. He wasn't giving that up for a couple of old relics. "Y'know, I've been SCUBA diving before, back on Earth. Since, uh, I can't fly for the next few days, maybe I could, uh, look for the stuff. Or _we_ could look for it, but not tell anyone until we find it all so…"

She bobbed up and forward suddenly to peck his lips. _I did tell you that other people already know about Silvanus Falls, right?_

_That's not…I wasn't…okay, I was, but…uh…_

"Let me just put this with our things, then we'll go back to looking for our Voltcoms." She swam toward the shore with the piece of armor. He changed his mind about diving again immediately when he saw her stand in the shallows, water streaming off her body, glistening in the late afternoon sun. His excitement and desire drew him after her. He moved slowly, wanting to keep his eyes on her as she moved gracefully from the water, up the bank and back. He was standing in waist-deep water when she returned. "Oh, no. Not until we find our Voltcoms."

"What are you…?" He had been trying to act innocent, but she aimed a pointed look at the waterline. He looked down and smiled. "Up, periscope."

"Just dive."

Voltcoms safe on the grassy bank a few long minutes later, he pulled her back toward the waterfall.

* * *

><p>Keith was starting to lose patience with the diplomatic process. It was the third and final day of his and Coran's visit to the Qirillian Empire and he was more than ready for the long flight back to Arus, if not the short one to the station positioned near the singularity. King Ablen had offered to allow them to observe the collection of ardillium in person so they could see how safe the process was. Keith had the feeling the king wasn't going to be happy until Coran had agreed to make a deal with him to bring ardillium power to Arus. But he had more pressing concerns at the moment.<p>

Prince Ajax had offered to fly Keith to the observation post in his personal fighter to demonstrate his newfound piloting skills, a suggestion which Coran had enthusiastically supported. Easy for him to say from the gangway of the king's transport. He hadn't even gotten a look at the prince's 'fighter.' It was really a glorified trainer with some weaponry haphazardly welded to the hull. Fortunately, it also came with a co-pilot who took the first seat. Prince Ajax was quick to explain that all Qirillian fighters were designed with the co-pilot in front. Keith exchanged a look with the co-pilot that he could only interpret as a Qirillian eye-roll. From his seat in the extreme rear of the cockpit, it looked as if the prince's controls weren't actually hooked up to anything – a good thing, too, because from what Keith could decipher of the flight controls, Prince Ajax would have sent them careening into the singularity instead of bringing them in for a smooth landing in the wide bay of the orbiting station.

"Well, Commander, not bad for a royal, eh?" Prince Ajax made a show of replacing his helmet with his crown as Keith climbed down from the cockpit. "Of course, I realize it was just simple trip from the planet to the station, but we all have to start somewhere!"

"Of course, Prince Ajax."

He scrambled awkwardly down and patted the side of the 'fighter.' "Perhaps someday I shall fly it into battle for the glory of the Qirillian Empire."

"You have enemies threatening you?"

"No, but…" The prince hung his head. "I suppose it is something of a silly notion of mine. But just knowing that there are those of royal blood in the galaxy who fight for their homes! When you were kind enough to allow me to fly with you in your Black Lion yesterday, I was imagining…"

Fairly certain that whatever Prince Ajax had been imagining involved Allura, Keith interrupted, "Consider yourself lucky that you don't have to fight."

"Yes, we do enjoy peace here. But you must admit there is something exhilarating about the risk one takes on in piloting a ship. If only I could have flown your Lion to see the differences between my ship and yours."

"As I explained yesterday, Black Lion won't fly for anyone without a bond to him."

"Him! Delightful." Prince Ajax actually seemed to be bouncing as they watched the co-pilot perform the kind of checks that Keith wouldn't entrust to someone else if the ship were his. "Tell me, are all the Lions male?"

"I don't think they're actually male or female. They just sort of reflect their pilots."

"So the lovely Princess Allura's Blue Lion is female. Interesting."

Keith didn't really see why, but nodded. "Yes. Um, should we be meeting the king and Coran somewhere?"

"Oh, yes. I imagine they're already on the observation deck. This way!"

When they arrived, the collection of ardillium was already well underway. Coran was asking, "So you never sell only ardillium? It's always the containment vessel as well?"

King Ablen laughed in an indulgent way, gesturing with a full glass of the soapy wine Keith recognized from the banquet the first night of their visit. "It would be impossible to transport if we did not. Most of the ardillium we sell also goes into reactors we have built and installed ourselves. As we have so much experience dealing with ardillium, our allies trust our equipment. We will not sell to anyone who cannot prove their reactor does not conform to standards. Standards, I might add, which are set by the Galaxy Alliance."

Keith was starting to get too aggravated with the entire stay to continue to be vague. "You joined the GA during Wade's regime. You sold a reactor to him?"

"Former Sky Marshal Wade? I'm afraid not." The king coughed delicately on a sip of wine as a glass fell somewhere behind them. "Do be more careful, Ajax. I believe flying must make your hands sweat. But, as for the former Sky Marshal – although he did make several visits here to investigate the practical applications of ardillium reactors, he never purchased one. I believe he decided the risk was not worth the reward."

"Wade wasn't exactly into avoiding risks."

"You doubt me, Commander Kogane?"

Keith could feel the tension in the room growing and, anticipating an attempted diffusion from Coran, took a different tack. "You keep track of where all your ardillium goes?"

"Of course, as does the Galaxy Alliance. We cannot, however, be responsible for what others may do with it after a purchase. I believe that responsibility lies with _your_ inspectors." He took another sip from his wine glass, draining it and holding it out for a refill from a nearby servant, who jumped into action. The king waited until his glass was again full to say, "I am beginning to tire of your thinly veiled accusations, Commander."

"Fine." He placed himself between the king and the wide observation window. "I think Wade was developing, or at least researching ardillium weapons. And Qirillians are the ardillium experts. The math isn't hard."

He heard Prince Ajax gasp, but King Ablen merely turned away from him with a slight sniff of disgust. "Ambassador Coran, I can only hope Arus is better represented in your open-mindedness. In spite of Commander Kogane's lack of civility, we would still be pleased to do business with Princess Allura and your planet."

Coran bowed slightly. "I will certainly discuss with her all the benefits of ardillium you have demonstrated during our visit."

"Thank you, Ambassador. It appears as if the collection has been completed. The refining process is all automated within the collection ship to reduce risks to workers. I would offer you a tour of the facility, but I'm afraid it would not be very exciting. Besides, it is time to return to Qirillon to prepare for the ball. Commander, perhaps you could come in my ship? I am sure you and Ambassador Coran would like to have a conversation." He shoved his empty wineglass into the chest of the servant standing by the door as he exited. Prince Ajax was gesturing wildly from the back of the room for some inscrutable reason.

"Thank you for the demonstration of your piloting skills, Prince Ajax," Keith said, hoping it was loud enough for the king to hear – it didn't hurt to pump the poor guy up a little. The prince didn't seem satisfied, but Keith gave him a nod, swallowed his pride and followed Coran. He knew he probably deserved the lecture he was about to endure.


	24. Chapter 24

Keith checked his formal Voltron Force uniform for wrinkles in the mirror in his room. He did not want to attend this ball, especially after the double dressing-down he'd gotten from Coran over the course of the afternoon. The first, on King Ablen's transport ship while the king was in earshot, had been concerned mostly with the importance of behaving with grace and tact in the presence of allies with whom Arus desired to maintain or strengthen ties. The second, real lecture had occurred in Coran's room and consisted mostly of reminders not to provoke King Ablen when they were still looking for answers about why the ardillium reactor in Wade's former base on Ikaria had almost killed Lance and Daniel.

Coran's conclusion before sending Keith back to his own room to dress for the ball had been, "No matter how slimy, dishonest, reprehensible and distasteful we find King Ablen, you are to apologize to him for your outburst and imply that we are in agreement that the Castle of Lions, if not all of Arus, would benefit from ardillium power. As your Earth saying goes, we will attract more flies with honey than acid."

Keith had been so pleased at the time with Coran's description of the king that he hadn't corrected the misspoken adage. He was aware that acid was probably closer to the truth, anyway; also, that vinegar was a type of acid, so Coran wasn't technically wrong. Giving his uniform a final adjustment and checking his Voltcom for a full charge, he stepped into the already busy hallway. The Qirillians were allied with many planets he didn't recognize, resulting in many, many introductions and a mass of information to recall. He sought out Coran in the ballroom after being announced with great fanfare and stayed close, looking for an opportunity to make his apology to King Ablen – hopefully without many other guests nearby. In the meantime, he was stuck in a crowd of fawning women and a few men; it was about par for the course of any ball.

Halfway through the night and following one of the more confusing 'dances' in which he'd been pressed to participate, he thought he saw his chance to speak with the king, who had just excused himself and left the ballroom. Keith followed at a safe distance. This was going to get awkward if the encounter occurred in the restroom, but at least it would be relatively private. He was passing the tapestry room when a hand shot out and pulled him in, closing the door behind him. In the light from his instinctively drawn Voltcom sword, he was able to distinguish a familiar figure. "Prince Ajax! What…?

"Quiet!" the prince hissed urgently. "I needed to speak to you alone, but I doubt I have long before I am missed."

"Okay." Keith didn't retract his sword but lowered it. "Talk."

"My father lied to you earlier today. He has not been entirely forthcoming with you during your entire stay – for example, there have been many attempts to weaponize ardillium but all have been such spectacular failures that they were abandoned – but that was the first outright lie I heard him speak. Marshal Wade purchased two ardillium reactors of unusual power under very secret circumstances. My father attended the installation of one personally."

"Where?"

"A small planet in what I believe is called the Faros sector."

Keith's excitement dampened considerably. "Ikaria."

"Yes!"

"It's not there anymore."

"The reactor?"

"The planet. We were investigating some odd readings and the reactor went critical." He almost folded his arms but realized he was still holding his sword. He settled for allowing his arms to hang at his side as he watched Prince Ajax wring his hands. It briefly crossed his mind that this was some kind of elaborate setup, but he seriously doubted the prince was capable of duplicity. "If you know where the other reactor is, now would be the time to tell me."

"Oh dear, oh dear. The Ikaria reactor was the smaller of the two, of that I'm sure. Was Princess Allura injured? Is that why she could not attend our ball?"

"She's fine. She was on Arus at the time. But the other reactor?"

"I would never forgive myself if she were harmed by my father's actions! I could never declare myself as a suitor if that were the case."

Keith was starting to get very impatient. "You have no chance with her, Prince Ajax. Do you know where the other reactor is or not?"

The prince looked stricken, but mumbled, "Not exactly. I just know that it was somewhere closer to Earth."

"How much closer?" He murmured something unintelligible, so Keith seized his shoulders. "How. Much. Closer?"

"I heard only mention of it in passing, but…"

"Anything you can remember will help us."

Prince Ajax looked up at him with frightened eyes and whispered, "Kuiper belt."

"You're sure?"

"That was all I heard."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I thought…Princess Allura…if I could help you…but she has another suitor?"

For the first time in three days, Keith was forced to give serious thought to the issue of Lance and Allura. He had been careful not to ask questions about anything not related to the operation during his brief conversations with the team in the Control Room, so he had no idea how things were progressing between them, if at all, back on Arus. He set his jaw. "Yes."

"Is it…you?"

"No."

"Ah. Then you understand." The prince gave him a knowing look that made Keith uncomfortable. "But you are her friend?"

"Of course."

"Please know that if I had been allowed to court her, I would have been respectful and kind."

"I don't doubt that, Prince Ajax."

"Yes. Please do not think less of my people because of my father's deception. I need to return to the ball." The room was briefly illuminated as the prince exited.

Keith raised his sword, allowing the glow it produced to spread over the tapestry that had bothered him during his first visit to this room. "What were you up to, Wade?"

He was exceedingly glad he and Coran would be departing immediately following the ball. And King Ablen was not going to be getting an apology.

* * *

><p>Allura awoke in her bed to the sound of Lance's snores. From the light coming through her tall windows, she judged it to be shortly after the first sunrise. No one would even think about bothering them for at least an hour, if not longer. Her maids had adapted quickly to the changes in her routine. The sheets had been freshly changed every time they'd tumbled into bed and a small section of her closet had been rearranged to accommodate some of Lance's clothes. Her staff was making it easy for them – a good sign. He had a point every time he mentioned it. She was going to have to do something for them. When Coran returned, she would talk to him about a wage raise for all castle employees, among other things.<p>

Coran was one of the people with whom she was most concerned about discussing her new relationship with Lance. He and Keith would be back either tonight or tomorrow morning, depending on how fast they flew. She wasn't looking forward to either conversation, but she knew nothing was going to change. She was with Lance. Three more days and their bond would be solidified permanently. As far as she was concerned, they had already passed the point of no return and she wouldn't have it any other way.

She drew her fingertip over his chest, feeling his muscle definition changing as he breathed. She bit her lip as she traced around his flat nipples and the lower boundaries of his pectorals. For the rest of her life, she was going to wake up beside this man. She smiled and snuggled closer to him as she began to run her fingers over his sculpted stomach. In the excitement over his discovery of King Storos' gauntlet, she hadn't been able to broach the subject of marriage again, but she had a certain confidence that he was including it in his future plans. After all, he had, other than a brief crisis of faith, been excited over their bonding. And he had countered Larmina's assertion that they would be getting married with the idea that they would live happily ever after, a phrase she recognized from Terran literature. If anything, she felt she would have a bigger fight with Coran than she would with Lance, assuming he fought her at all.

She sighed happily as she inhaled his musky, masculine scent and allowed her hand to drift lower, under the sheets now. There would be no more potential suitors pursuing her at balls, no more forced conversations with vapid princes she had been informed would be a good matches, no more concern about finding a man she could tolerate if not love. She had never allowed herself to believe it could be so easy. Well, maybe not _easy_ – easy would have resulted in a settled relationship years ago.

She wasn't about to complain, though, as she lightly caressed his soft cock. She pulled the sheets back to expose him. She'd had very few opportunities to observe him in an unaroused state since they'd been together. Hard or not, she found him fascinating. She leaned her head closer for a better view. It was so different from… She jumped slightly as he twitched. She stroked him gently and watched him stiffen a bit. He continued to harden with her continued attention.

She was considering taking him in her mouth when he said, "Mmm. Now _that_ is a good way to wake up."

"Good morning." She put off her desire for one flavor in favor of climbing on top of him, where she could look into his eyes and kiss him if necessary. "Lance, will you marry me?"

"Huh? Am I still asleep?" His hands gripped her waist, holding her against him.

"I mean it."

He looked at her for a few moments, hazel eyes twinkling before getting into her head, _You do know it's traditional, on Earth anyway, for the man to propose to the woman._

_I'm not proposing. I'm asking a simple question. Will you marry me?_

_Of course I'll marry you. Assuming I'm allowed to. If I'm not…you can keep me as the chief and only member of your dude harem._ His hands ran up to her shoulders then followed the curves of her body until he was grasping her ass. _We should talk to your dad. If he's cool with it, Coran and Keith can't really argue, right?_

_It's a good idea. I think Coran will want to speak with my father himself, though._

_Keith is gonna be pissed at me._

Although she didn't want to think about Keith right now, not with Lance fully aroused and positioned between her legs, she asked, _Why?_

_Before he left, he told me he knew you had feelings for me. _His hands were suddenly in her hair. _He told me not to screw up my chance with you. He may be expecting we've kissed or something by the time he gets back, but not…_ The rush of memories and sensations she felt in that moment were almost enough to set her off.

"What was that?"

He seemed equally turned on and confused. "No idea. But it was almost awesome."

"We may be getting to the shared experiences that Dr. Lunnen mentioned."

"Some other thing she wants scans on?" She was suddenly beneath him as he rolled, pushing her onto her back. He kissed her neck, tongue lingering over her pulse points. "What's that mean, 'shared experiences'?"

"We should be able to selectively share sensations."

"Meaning?"

She ground her hips against him for emphasis. "Shared climaxes."

"Wait, what?" He was hovering over her, eye to eye again.

"I'll be able to feel your orgasms and you'll be able to feel mine."

"Really?"

"That's how I understand it."

"Now, will it be, like, only half as good for each of us or do we both get the whole experience? And if we're both feeling it, won't that kinda build with you feeling me feeling you feeling me feeling you until…can something bad happen if sex gets too good?"

"How should I know? Until a few days ago, I didn't know how good sex felt."

"Poor Princess. Need a reminder?"

She smiled up at him. "Always."


	25. Chapter 25

Lance didn't like the way the temperature dropped by several degrees with every few steps through the dank brick tunnels. He could already see his breath making little clouds in front of his face. Allura, on the other hand, was practically skipping as they made their way to King Alfor's tomb. She was clearly still high on the incredible sex they'd had that morning. He could only conclude that his own sex-addled brain had contributed to his agreeing to come down to the catacombs to ask her father for his blessing.

At least they both knew how to define shared experiences now – ridiculously, brain-explodingly awesome. No wonder Dr. Lunnen wanted to monitor them during sex. He was definitely not agreeing to it. No one could possibly understand what he and Allura had shared a short hour and a half before, wrapped in the most intimate of embraces. He could still feel the echoes of her pleasure sweeping through him, creating tingly sensations in places he didn't even _have_…

Another temperature drop interrupted Lance's happy reflections. He glanced around, confirming that he wasn't just having a bad dream in his usual post-coital oblivion. No, they had definitely gotten into the shower once they'd both been able to move again. The fact that his still-damp hair was stiff with what may have been ice when he ran his hand through it lent credence to that. So…heading to visit his girlfriend's dead father not long after making her scream like a banshee. Nothing awkward at all about _that_.

Given the option, he preferred not speaking with his dead parents. It wasn't that he didn't love them and miss them, just that…it was freaking weird. He got that it was more of a cultural thing that came from growing up on a planet that was half water and rock, half magic, but Alfor seemed to know things a guy who hung out in a clammy tomb all day shouldn't have known. And not just creepy prediction-type stuff. That had been his impression on the rare occasions he'd been here, anyway. That and the distinct air of eeriness.

His voice sounded too high in his own ears as he said, "We're not letting the kids play down here, right?"

Allura stopped short and turned around with a surprised smile. "Kids?"

"Don't give me that look. We're kinda committed to having at least one and I know you would have liked growing up with some little brothers or sisters so…yeah." He finally returned her smile with one of his own. "Kids."

_I love you. _He felt instantly warmer as she threw herself into his arms for an enthusiastic kiss. _But I hope you aren't suggesting we start a family right away._

_Not at all. I need a few years of monopolizing your attention, at least._ He reluctantly let her go as she turned to continue down the mossy final staircase. As long as they were discussing their future, he wanted to make one thing clear. "No Nanny. We can have _a_ nanny, but not Nanny. She can visit with the Svenling, but she's not corrupting my Lancelets."

"Nanny isn't so bad. But I agree that she won't be raising our children." He felt he'd won a victory until Allura continued, "She dislikes you too much. I can only imagine what her reaction will be when she finds out about us. Oh, and when I spoke to her last week, she told me Haakon is doing very well. He should be walking soon."

Lance shook his head. "Haakon. You must have to say it with the goofy accent for it to sound good."

"Apparently it was a royal name in Sven's homeland."

Lance had the feeling she wanted him to ask a follow-up question without any prompting, but they had arrived at King Alfor's tomb. He was already standing there waiting for them, all translucent and shimmery. "Greetings, my children. I am pleased to see you here together at last."

Lance blocked his first instinct to get closer to Allura. "Um, hi. Your highness," he added as an afterthought.

"Your bonding is almost complete." The king reached a spectral hand toward Allura's cheek and she didn't shy away from it. "As much as we loved each other, your mother and I could not bond. I am pleased you have found true love. I know you will cherish each other, as we did. You have come for my blessing and you have it."

"Thank you, father."

Lance felt her elbow in his ribs. "Yeah, thank you. I, um, I do love her. Just so you know."

"I am aware of that, Lance." Lance discovered that it was hard to look a ghost in the eye. "You will discover the remainder of the lost armor."

And there it was. There was no way King Alfor could know about the silver wrist thing he'd found, but he obviously did. "Yeah. There's a team of divers out at Silvanus Falls now." He and Allura had had an argument about that when they'd returned to the castle the previous evening. For some reason, she believed the planet's cultural heritage outweighed his desire that they have a romantic trysting spot away from the castle. Lance had his doubts, but had eventually reluctantly agreed. Not that she'd needed him to agree to anything, but he liked that she hadn't called in the treasure divers until he had said it was fine.

King Alfor, in the meantime, was looking through him as if _he_ were the ghost. "_You_ will discover it."

"Me, personally?"

"The sword will be yours. You will return to your Lions soon, before danger arrives. Cherish each other…" He faded from view.

Lance waited for a few moments until Allura lifted her bowed head. "Allura, it's not that I don't like your dad, but, um…"

"He was much warmer and more understandable when he was alive."

"I'm sure. Speaking of warmer, can we get back upstairs?" He took her hand and led her away from the tomb, trying to be cheerful. "I could go for some breakfast. Think Hunk's eaten all the leftovers yet, or…"

"He said we can return to our Lions soon. I assume once our bonding is complete."

"That's good. I wish he'd told us when the neurologist will be leaving us alone. I'm sure she's looking at the data from our Voltcoms right now, wondering what just happened." He traced his finger over the lion-face on his Voltcom. He was starting to feel better as they ascended into more familiar sections of the castle. "I mean, does it look like normal conversations, or like when we're in each other's heads, or something else entirely?"

She seemed pensive. "You'll just encourage her if you mention it."

_Something wrong?_

_No…not wrong. Just something my father said. _

_Don't worry about it. I told you, I'm SCUBA certified._ He had decided the previous day not to tell her he'd taken the course while on vacation with a girl whose name he could no longer remember and, in spite of his spacewalking experience, had made an excuse to get out of diving on the Great Barrier Reef. Breathing in space was fine, but underwater? Weird. Almost as weird as chatting with his current girlfriend's dead father. Right. _We can head out to the falls later today. And once your divers leave for the day…_

_It's not that. It was something my father said about the sword. I had always thought…but… _"I guess it isn't important. The sword must be lost with the armor."

"Uh, yeah." He wanted to say that Keith was the sword guy, but decided against it. He settled his arm around her shoulders as they finally emerged from the catacombs into one of the castle's wide hallways. "What about the danger he mentioned?"

"He told me a new evil was coming the last time we spoke, but nothing further."

"He said we'd be back in our Lions before it happens. Guess that's means they'll be fine once we're bonded."

She leaned into him further as they walked. "We should have Pidge increase scans throughout the sector in the next few days, just in case. Maybe we can get some idea of what's coming."

"It'll be okay." He pressed his lips against her temple. "Now how about we go get something to eat?"


	26. Chapter 26

Pidge picked at his late breakfast as he looked over the previous night's data from the Control Room. Nothing out of the ordinary jumped out at him, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something he was missing. He called up the automatic scans from previous nights to compare. There were no notable anomalies. He ran back over the past month; there was still nothing. It was maddening.

He had been searching for any unexplained ardillium signatures even before Keith had woken him early that morning to report Wade's supposed second reactor in the Kuiper belt, but the investigation was proving difficult. Nobody ever seemed to appreciate how big the galaxy actually was until you were looking for something very, very small, even given a limited area. He could have used some assistance, but the cadets were still mostly tethered to Daniel in the infirmary and Lance and Allura…were best not interrupted. Pidge sighed. The scans were all automated and set to alert to him directly if any irregularities arose, but he mostly would have liked to feel like the team wanted to be involved. At least Hunk was being helpful; after a protein-heavy breakfast, he had gone right to the Control Room to monitor the sensors from there. So far, he had found an asteroid that looked like a cupcake, which he had excitedly reported. Pidge had tried to return his friend's enthusiasm.

He looked up as Lance and Allura entered the room, relaxed and cuddly. Even if it was taking up most of their time while their bonding was going on, they were surprisingly easy to get used to as a couple, probably because they just looked so happy together. He had to admit his willingness to accept their relationship may have been connected to Dr. Lunnen's initial analysis of them in the Lions. The data from their moments of telepathy really did resemble some of his readings from the nexus and what had happened when they'd been in their Lions was unlike anything he'd ever seen. Though fascinating, Pidge had found it took only one suggestion of voyeurism to lose interest in future brainscans. Besides, sex looked nothing like their interaction with the Lions, which was where his curiosity lay. It was much easier just to take love at face value, which in turn was easier when he avoided hearing about the biology of bonding from Dr. Lunnen. The woman just didn't understand how to stop talking about her work.

A waiter had already placed cups of coffee by their seats when Lance pulled out a chair for Allura, which she took with a smile. "Good morning, Pidge."

"Morning." His own coffee cup had been empty for some time, but no amount of fiddling with it had gotten him a refill and now the waiter had disappeared again.

The spoon clinked against the rim of Allura's cup as she stirred in milk and sugar. "You look busy."

He nodded, wondering if the slight blip on his tablet screen was something significant or just interference. "Looking over the overnight scans."

"Not of us, I hope," Lance said, raising an eyebrow from behind his coffee cup. "I'm almost scared to put on my Voltcom. Thanks for that, by the way."

"Oh. Right." Pidge did have to admit that any voyeuristic brainscans were his fault. Indirectly. "Sorry."

Allura frowned at him before turning to Pidge. "I'm sure you only gave her access to our brainscans through our Voltcoms for the advancement of scientific understanding."

"Speaking of which, where is the mad scientist?" Lance leaned back in his chair and rested his arm around Allura's shoulders. "Is she going to be around to see how breakfast affects our brain mojo?"

"No. Thankfully, Dr. Lunnen likes to eat early." Pidge had been avoiding her, just in case she wanted to show him more of what she called the more titillating data. "Keith actually contacted me last night before he and Coran left Qirillon to tell us that Prince Ajax told him Wade bought two secret reactors from the Qirillians. You found less powerful one, Lance, and the other is supposedly somewhere in the Kuiper belt, though I haven't found any evidence of it yet."

Lance paused with his coffee cup halfway to his mouth. "That's pretty damn close to Earth."

"At least it's far enough that it wouldn't damage anything if the reactor went critical like the one on Ikaria."

"But didn't you just say it's more powerful than…" Allura was interrupted by the arrival of two very impressive plates for her and Lance. Pidge had to note that they both got the fresh fruit salad the waiter had told him the kitchen was out of. "Oh, thank you."

The waiter bowed. "Can I get you anything else, Princess?"

"This is quite enough."

"Hold on." Lance was looking at his massive meal like there was something missing. "I think I feel like eggs. But not those giant bird eggs, just regular size eggs. Over easy."

"Very good, Commander."

"Oh, and more coffee. Need a refill, Pidge?"

"Uh, yeah, that'd be great."

"Anyway, I believe before every breakfast food but eggs was delivered," Lance paused to pop a piece of chorple bacon into his mouth, which he continued to speak around "'lura wuff afking…" He suddenly stopped and looked at her.

From their rapidly shifting expressions, Pidge could only assume they were talking to each other. "Not to interrupt," they both suddenly looked at him guiltily, "but to answer your question, I don't think any ardillium explosion from as far off as the Kuiper belt would have effects on Earth. It just wouldn't be powerful enough, though any passing ships would be in trouble."

Allura seemed concerned. "Still, how did Wade hide something like that so close to Earth with no one noticing?"

"This is the same creep who made it against the law to talk about Voltron, invented an invisible prison and tried to kill you on live television in Lion versus robot gladiator combat." Lance suddenly dropped the piece of toast he was holding in favor of taking her hand. "Okay, now I'm even madder at the psycho creep than I thought."

The waiter chose that moment to reappear with a plate. "Your eggs, Commander."

"Oh, thanks. And I was talking about Wade, not you. Y'know, with the psycho creep thing."

"Of course. Fresh coffee is brewing and will be out in a few moments."

"Thanks." Lance was either doing a great impression of Hunk or he was just really in the mood for eggs as he started to eat in earnest, letting go of Allura's hand. She smiled and he made a dismissive gesture.

Pidge could tell this telepathy thing was going to wear thin for everyone else pretty quickly. He decided to return to the topic at hand. "The problem with finding something in the Kuiper belt is just the sheer volume of objects to scan. Assuming the reactor is shielded and protected, we may not find it until something goes wrong with it, like with the Ikaria reactor. I suppose I could modify our sensors, but I don't know how well it will work long-range and we can't realistically…" he trailed off as he watched the waiter walk away without refilling his coffee after doing so for Lance and Allura's. "Maybe I'll head for the Control Room to start working on a solution to that."

"Can we do anything?"

Allura seemed genuine, but Pidge shook his head. "Not at the moment. I'll let you know. I'm sure Dr. Lunnen will be looking for the two of you anyway."

"Don't remind me." Lance flicked at his Voltcom. "First Red, now you. I'd be worried about my jacket if it had any electronics in it."

He and Allura were laughing at something neither of them had said out loud as Pidge walked out. Some good old fashioned sensor recalibration would make for an interesting morning.

* * *

><p>Keith had never been happier to navigate through the tedious magnetic disturbances that existed on this approach to Arus. It meant they were almost back, hours sooner than expected. Black Lion had really seemed pleased about their unusual speed. Keith gave him a little more freedom to fly and turned his head. "Coran? You awake?"<p>

"Of course." The older man was looking attentively out the window. "I see we have made excellent time."

"We have stuff to do. And Black needs to get recharged before we head out to find that base in the Kuiper belt."

"You trust Prince Ajax's information?"

"You think he's some master of deception?"

Coran chuckled. "Perhaps not. But it is possible that he is simply being used by his father."

"To what end?"

"A distraction? Perhaps King Ablen hopes to retrieve the reactor from its real location while you search for it elsewhere. Or perhaps there is no second reactor, but your instincts about ardillium weapons are correct and the king was attempting to change your focus?"

"I don't like it."

"If there is an ardillium reactor hidden in the Kuiper belt, I'm sure the Voltron Force will be able to deal with it effectively. It is possible it would not even be a threat and could be put to good use."

"On Arus?"

"Certainly not. I wouldn't think much of myself as an advisor if I advocated against purchasing a technology I don't trust only to take it from the stockpile of Wade, a man I trust even less. Besides, I don't want to feel as if we are obligated to invite King Ablen to Arus every time we host an event. I believe his son annoys Princess Allura."

"I think he was just infatuated. Not so unreasonable." Keith tightened his grip on the controls as Black shuddered slightly. "Although I may have told him she wasn't interested in him."

Coran sighed. "Keith, if you would like to declare your intentions toward Princess Allura…"

"Me? No! But…" A rush of hot guilt ran through him. He had told himself he wouldn't mention anything to Coran, that he would leave it alone. If there _was_ something going on between Lance and Allura, they should be the ones to share it. "I don't know if it's my place to tell you."

"Very well," Coran replied seemingly unperturbed.

"You should talk to Lance and Allura when we get back," Keith blurted out, overcome by the sudden feeling that he was tattling to the principal.

"Ah, speaking of our arrival…"

Ten minutes later, Keith was walking out of Black Lion's mouth in the hangar, where Pidge and Hunk were waiting on the catwalk. "Keith! We weren't expecting you until a lot later!"

"We made good time. I was eager to get out of there anyway. Any leads on that ardillium in the Kuiper belt?"

Pidge shook his head. "I'm focusing my attention on the larger objects, dwarf planets, but no luck yet."

"How's Daniel?"

"Getting better. He could be out of the infirmary in two or three days. I think the cadets are enjoying the time off from classes, actually."

"This is no time for a vacation, not with another ardillium reactor out there in…" Keith suddenly realized what was bothering him. "Where's Lance?" He swallowed, hard. "And Allura?"

"Uh, not here?"

"Yeah, I can see that, Hunk. Any idea where they are?"

"Lance said something about archeology, then they took off on a hovercycle." Hunk shrugged. "But wherever they are, you can be sure they're together."

Keith had been expecting something in that vein, but it still created a pit in his stomach. "So they're on speaking terms again?"

"Speaking? Definitely." Pidge and Hunk shared an uncomfortable look. "You know, there's a team out at Silvanus Falls looking for the armor that goes with the piece Lance found there yesterday. That must be what he meant."

"Well, get them back here, Pidge. We need to start planning how to find this base and how to avoid another Ikaria once we do." Keith saw Pidge and Hunk exchange another loaded glance and narrowed his eyes. "What are you two not telling me?"

Unusually, the only sound in the hangar was a space mouse skittering across the floor. Hunk finally asked, "You, uh, ever heard of bonding?"


	27. Chapter 27

Lance took a more direct route to the falls than he had the previous day, though he maintained his excessive speed through the forest to get Allura to clutch him tightly. For safety. Heh. It was such a teenager thing, but so effective. She wasn't disappointing him with her ardent embrace. Maybe he could find a secluded area and convince her to sit face to face and take a ride.

_No._

He almost jumped, but maintained his precarious control of the bike. _Didn't realize I was thinking that at you._

_Oh, please. _

_You don't have to beg. I'll pull over right here._

_We are not having sex on the hovercycle. Now stop thinking about it. You're getting me all turned on and there's nothing we can do about it._

_Nothing?_

_Not here._

He realized that he hadn't really been paying close attention and braked just in time. The clearing beside the falls was a lot more active than when they had last been there, a fact Lance was sorely regretting at the moment. Closing his eyes, he was able to picture her yesterday as they'd made love under the waterfall for a second time, legs wrapped around his waist, breasts pressed to his chest, fingernails leaving delicious welts on his back…

_Stop it._

_Can't help it._ He gave her a grin as she dismounted from the hovercycle. _My brain chemistry is reconfoobling, as Dr. Lunnen might say._

_Thank the gods we missed her this morning._

_She's got us on remote with the Voltcoms. Think she can figure out what we're saying? Hey! Leave us alone!_

She rolled her eyes before switching to royal-mode as a nerdy guy in full jungle warfare dress rushed over to them. "Princess! We were told someone from the castle would be coming, but we were not expecting you!"

She shook his hand as Lance looked around at the array of equipment in the clearing; there was no way these people were going to get out of here to give them some private time under the falls. He shook his head, moving toward the pool past a couple of bored castle guards. A few steady columns of bubbles marked where he estimated three divers were searching. Allura continued to talk with the camo-nerd. "It's not often we have excavations like this on the castle grounds. You're the leader of the…"

"Yes! Oh, I apologize, your highness. Of course I recognize you and Commander McClain, so I…oh, Dr. Marran Tag from the University of Arus. I'm afraid I heard we would be working in the forest and got overexcited." He removed his wide-brimmed camouflage hat to reveal a seriously receding hairline. "My graduate students and I are so thankful for this opportunity!"

"We're thankful for your efforts." Allura folded her arms and walked closer to the edge of the pool. "King Storos' armor is an important Arusian artifact."

"Unfortunately, I do not think we will be witnessing such a discovery today. The divers have been searching for over two hours and the sensors have found nothing at the bottom of the pool. Perhaps the piece you found…"

Lance felt a surge of satisfaction as she interrupted to correct, "Lance found it."

"Yes, that Commander McClain found was an isolated relic or a well-made copy. I trust we will be able to examine it at some point?"

"Of course. We'll make it available to you later. You will all be accommodated at the Castle of Lions while you're working here, naturally."

"We thank you, Princess. I only wish we were finding something that would merit the invitation." Pushing the microphone on his headset back up to his mouth, he said, "I hope you guys have something to show for your time down there, because you'll never guess who's here!" After listening and nodding for a few moments, he continued, "Well, you can't bring up a bucket of mud to show Princess Allura. She's here to check on our progress and invite us to stay at the castle." He suddenly yanked out the earpiece of his headset, from which the happy shouting was audible even from where Lance was standing. "Yeah, they're excited."

Having had enough of the pleasantries, Lance interrupted, "It's turning into a regular college classroom at the castle. First Dr. Lunnen, now you guys. Nobody better make me write a paper."

Tag's eyes widened. "Dr. Lunnen? Isn't she the bonding specialist from the medical school?"

"Small, nosy, looks way too young to be a doctor?"

"Yes, but…"

"Yeah, that's her. You can ask her how interesting your brain is when we get back to the castle."

"But what is she doing here? Who's bonding?"

Allura turned slowly and gave him an appraising look. "Do you have extra diving gear?"

"Of course, Princess. If you would…"

"For Lance."

_Allura…_

_My father said you would find the armor. The least you can do is swim down there and look for it._

He regarded her seriously. "I'm guessing you had the staff pack a wetsuit and towels for me?"

A few minutes later, he was getting a crash course in how to work the lightweight Arusian dive gear. The wetsuit he had struggled into had come from Dr. Tag's stock. He liked his flight suit better. This was too think and restrictive. He moved his arms experimentally as Tag continued to tell him about all the safety features of the equipment. _Why do I need to know all this? We were both down there yesterday with no gear at all. _

_And it took us forever to find our Voltcoms. But please don't stay down for more than ten minutes. _

He smiled and pulled the mask over his face to test the airflow. "This is like a gas mask."

Dr. Tag nodded. "Underwater communication is a lot easier when you can talk rather than having a regulator in your mouth. Ready to go?"

Soon, he was settling to the bottom of the pool, moving with less urgency than he had the last time he'd been here. He gave a wave to someone who swam up to him. "Uh, hi. I'm Lance."

To his surprise, a woman's voice replied through the tinny speaker in his ear, "I'm Rina. You're the one who found the armor yesterday?"

"Yeah."

"Do you remember where?"

Was this lady for real? "Um, on the bottom, somewhere?"

"Closer to the falls, further? Right or left?"

"I really don't know. The middle, I guess?"

She sighed. "Fine. We'll run the sensors over _the middle_ again."

Lance felt useless as two other divers swam over with complicated looking devices. He was about to thank them for …well, to say thank you and return to the surface when he felt a strange vibration through his body that he would have chalked up to the oxygen mask if it hadn't felt so much like Red. He reached down into the mud on the bottom. It squished between his fingers until he encountered a solid object. He started to dig it out, creating a murky slurry of the water all around him. "Uh, I think I found something."

Rina sounded annoyed with him. "We've searched almost the entire pool with no…"

"What about this?" Something on the device one of the divers was holding started to flash like crazy as he pulled the breastplate from the mud.

"I don't…why is this only showing up now?"

Allura's voice was fuzzy in his head, _Lance…you…armor…_

He answered over the comms in his mask. "I think there's other stuff down here. Uh…okay…I've got something…"

By following everything that felt like Red over the next hour, he had found an entire suit of armor, but no sword. No matter where he swam in the pool, he wasn't feeling the familiar purring vibration anymore. He and Allura had gotten past the threat of Separation Sickness by his hand-delivering each newly discovered piece to her on the shore. He had the feeling the team of archeologists thought he was some kind of asshole bootlicker as a result, but they were too awed by his ability to find the armor to say anything. If only he could find the sword King Alfor had mentioned…

He had resigned himself to failure on that front after another ten minutes of fruitless searching. Unzipping and pulling off the top half of his wetsuit, he walked over to where Allura was watching Dr. Tag and Rina inspect the armor. Images of Red stood out in relief on almost every surface. "How the heck did he manage to fly wearing this?"

"Maybe he was a better pilot than you?" Rina said with disdain, running her hand through her damp mop of dark hair. She had been especially annoyed by his constant trips to the surface during the search for the armor. "This is clearly ceremonial armor. It was never meant to be worn in battle."

"What do I know about armor?"

"You should know about _this_ armor." She looked over at him, her eyes taking a moment to go up and down his bare torso. "You're supposed to be the pilot of the Red Lion, aren't you?"

Allura stepped between them. "Lance is an excellent pilot. He just isn't Arusian, so his knowledge of our history is not as extensive as those of us educated here on Arus. He did manage to use his connection to the Red Lion to find the armor when your sensors couldn't."

Rina immediately backed down. "I apologize, Princess. I meant no offense."

_Why's she apologizing to you?_

_Let it go._ Out loud, she said, "Lance and I should probably be returning to the castle. Will you be able to bring everything back without assistance, Dr. Tag?"

"Oh, I'm sure your guards will be as helpful as they were when they brought us here earlier." One of the guards responded with a listless wave. "Yes, you see?"

"Very good. Lance?"

"I, uh…I have to change." He pointed to his still wetsuited lower half. "I'll just be behind that bush over there."

While out of view of the clearing, Lance thought he heard the sound of a hovercycle. His first thought was that Allura had taken off just to mess with him, but that wouldn't make sense given that they couldn't be apart for more than ten minutes. And the noise had been approaching, not leaving. Hm.

_Lance, hurry up and get out here._

_Just a sec._

_Now!_

_Okay, I…_ He didn't finish his thought as he circled the bush and saw Keith getting off a hovercycle. Lance felt Keith's eyes cut directly across the clearing at him. "Uh…welcome back?"

"We need to talk."

Lance nodded and dropped his wetsuit on top of a case as he walked by. "Okay. Somewhere a little more private?"

"Let's go. Princess, would you mind catching a ride back with these people?"

"Yes, I would. I'm coming with you."

Keith frowned but gave a terse nod and mounted his hovercycle. Lance followed suit, feeling Allura climb on behind him and wrap her arms around him, something that couldn't have escaped Keith's notice. Revving the bikes, they took off down a path that would take them on a circuitous route back to the castle.

Lance could feel Allura murmuring comforting words in his head, but it wasn't making him feel any better. _Told you he'd be pissed. At least he won't murder me with you as a witness._

_He's just disoriented. So much has changed in such a short time. It's just something he'll have to get used to. _

Keith suddenly took a sharp left toward a break in the trees near the cliffs. Lance took a deep breath and followed. He felt Allura tighten her hold on him. _Love you._

_You too._

_Let's do this. _Stopping his hovercycle a few feet away from Keith, Lance realized he was ready to get this out of the way.


	28. Chapter 28

Keith had spent the entire ride out to Silvanus Falls seething, planning what he was going to say. He had known that it was likely that something would have happened in his absence, but he had never expected that Lance would have successfully seduced Allura into bed in such a short time. As if that weren't enough, he had also apparently convinced her to bond with him. Keith wasn't entirely clear on what that meant from Pidge and Hunk's explanation, but he had heard enough to decide he didn't like it.

Worst of all, he knew he had no right to be angry with either of them. He knew Lance had been attracted to Allura for years and she had told him, Keith, that she had feelings for Lance. They were both adults, fully capable of making their own decisions regardless of his feelings. And now, more than ever, Keith was finding it hard to bury his own long-held desire for Allura. Strange how he could only freely admit it to himself now that she had made the choice she didn't even know Keith and Lance had been waiting years for.

His intention when he left the castle had been to order them to end it for the sake of the team – a return to the status quo where he and Lance were in an unspoken competition that neither of them could win. Now that he was standing alone in a secluded spot facing Lance and Allura, Keith knew it would be impossible. He stood up straight, squared his shoulders and gave them an unblinking stare. "Pidge said you can't fly your Lions."

They exchanged a long look before Lance replied, "Not at the moment."

"How long until you can?"

"Hopefully just another two days."

"That's when this bonding thing is over?"

Allura nodded. "The process should be complete then, yes."

"Good." Keith suddenly realized he didn't want to hear anything more about it, but couldn't stop himself from asking, "Did you know it would affect your Lions when you started?"

"We didn't even know we were bonding until the Separation Sickness set in." Lance scratched at the nearly healed cut on his forehead. "We both get dizzy and nauseous if…"

"Yeah, you can't be apart for more than ten minutes. Pidge filled me in on that part." He felt himself beginning to lose control of his calm demeanor and took a few steps toward them. "I'm guessing you didn't know about that either when you _accidentally_ bonded."

"It wasn't something we planned, but it turns out to be something we both wanted."

To his surprise, Lance hadn't responded with escalating anger, which made him even madder. "I suppose the team doesn't really matter as long as you're both getting what you want."

"The _team_ hasn't had a problem from what I've heard."

"We'll see how they feel after we have to deal with another ardillium reactor without Red and Blue Lion."

"Pidge hasn't even found it yet. He may not until Allura and I are able to fly again. Besides, Vince and Larmina are perfectly capable of…"

Keith interrupted, "I'm not putting two more cadets in a position to get seriously hurt."

Lance looked as if he'd been punched. Allura stepped in front of him. "That was low, Keith."

A light breeze was blowing through the clearing and she was close enough now that it carried her scent directly toward him. What would she do if he…? He didn't allow himself to finish the thought, forcing himself to concentrate on what they were discussing. "So you think Vince and Larmina have the piloting skills to escape an ardillium explosion like the one that injured Daniel?"

"You know that's not what I…"

"No disrespect, Princess, but because of your selfish decision, you've put the entire team in danger." Keith started to pace in a short path, partially to get away from her perfume. "We can't risk taking the cadets, meaning Pidge, Hunk and I won't have backup when we're trying to deal with whatever surprise Wade left in the Kuiper belt."

"Hold on." Keith could hear the edge finally creeping into Lance's voice as he continued, "Why do you think we have to deal with this supposed reactor the moment we find it? It's been sitting there for who knows how long, undetected, not doing anything. How will that change in the two or three days before Allura and I are back in our Lions? Assuming Pidge has even found it by then."

"A lot can happen when you're out of the loop for three days."

"And here it comes. Y'know, believe it or not Keith, I didn't spring some kind of seduction trap on Allura the moment you left because I saw my chance once you weren't around to defend her honor or something." Lance was suddenly in his face, growling, "In fact, as I remember it, you told me right before you left that I should go for it."

Keith was careful to keep his voice low as he replied, "Who other than you would hear 'don't fuck up your chance with her' as 'fuck her the first chance you get'?"

"Don't talk about her like that."

"Why shouldn't I? Isn't that what you're doing?" He could tell things were going to get out of control very quickly if one of them didn't back down, but Keith would be damned if it was him. "Or does this bonding bullshit mean you have to call it making love?"

Lance's clenched jaw worked for a moment before he unexpectedly relaxed. "You wouldn't call bullshit if you had any idea how it felt."

Keith froze, watching Lance walk back over to Allura. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's hard to explain." He took her hands in his, looking into her eyes even though he was still talking to Keith. "I can hear her in my head. I can feel what she feels. We're connected. I love her."

"Oh, please."

Allura turned to look at him. "Keith, I'm sorry I involved you in this to begin with, but it's important to me that you understand that Lance and I love each other. We're bonding, which I know isn't something you're familiar with but it's special and it doesn't happen often. And you need to either accept it or get used to it because we're going to be together for the rest of our lives."

Keith scoffed. "Is that what he told you?"

"It's the truth."

"Lance considers anything longer than two weeks as a major commitment." He scowled at them across the clearing. "So what's the rest of your life really mean? A month?"

"You know what? Fuck you, Keith." Lance's fists turned red as he activated his Voltcom, prompting Keith to draw his swords. "You think you're so much better than me, but you can't even respect that Allura's made up her mind."

They circled each other slowly. "If she's even in her right mind. Pidge said bonding screws up your brain."

"She picked me and I'm never gonna give her a reason to think she made the wrong choice. So you can go to hell."

"Enough!" Allura was suddenly standing between them. "This isn't like you two. You're friends. You may have disagreements, but you don't fight like this. And I won't let you fight over me. What do you think you would accomplish if you hurt Lance, Keith?"

"I…" Keith suddenly felt confused. She was right, of course. He still wanted to beat Lance beyond a bloody pulp. Lance had deactivated his Voltcom to settle his hands on her shoulders. Keith felt a wave of anger before his rational mind told him to deactivate his swords as well. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Something was not right. He had always been attracted to Allura, true, but he had enough regard for her that he wouldn't dream of disrespecting her choice, no matter how stupid and shortsighted and Lance it was… Deep breaths. Something was definitely not right.

He opened his eyes when he heard someone's comms beeping. Allura pushed the button on her Voltcom to reply. "Yes?"

An unfamiliar woman's voice came through, "Hi, Princess. I was just wondering if you and Commander McClain could stop by the infirmary."

"Dr. Lunnen, it's really not a good time."

"Yes, I can see that from your brainscans. It's almost like there's a third pattern attempting to include itself. I'd really like for you to come here so I can monitor it a little closer."

Lance and Allura exchanged worried looks. She finally answered, "We'll be there shortly."

Keith had to remind himself not to push his way between them. "Who was that?"

"The neurologist. She's studying us while we're bonding."

"Well, you two should probably get back to the castle, then."

"Yeah." Lance immediately jumped on the hovercycle and revved it.

Allura looked at Keith seriously. "You should come with us. Dr. Lunnen may be able to explain some things."

"I think it might be better if I don't."

She nodded and mounted the bike behind Lance, wrapping her arms around his midsection. Keith watched her hair flying out behind her as they sped away. When they were gone, all his anger seemed to disappear, leaving him only with regret. After a few minutes quiet reflection, he followed the path they had taken on his own hovercycle, intending to apologize for his behavior.

Twenty minutes later, two orderlies were holding him back from running a sword through Lance.


	29. Chapter 29

Allura felt as if she had been thrust into a waking nightmare. The infirmary was still in chaos from Keith's sudden, unexpected attack. One moment he had been calmly explaining that he was sorry, that he didn't understand what came over him in the forest, the next…

There was blood on her hands as she pulled Lance with her into an examination room while two burly orderlies wrestled Keith to the ground. She slammed the door behind them and struggled to push the exam table in front of it.

"Hey." Lance's hands were on her, gently making her stop. "We're safe."

She felt a sob catch in her throat and she grabbed handfuls large gauze pads from a cart in the room, which she pressed against his chest as she made him sit. Before Keith had been pulled back, he had managed to give Lance a serious slash running diagonally from his left shoulder to his stomach. _How could he?_

_He wasn't himself._

_Clearly._

_I mean it. You see his eyes change?_

_I… He wanted to kill you._

_Not the best way to win your heart, I'm guessing._

_Don't joke about it. _

"Hey." She felt him wiping the tears from her cheeks as he stood. "Worry about Keith right now. There's something seriously wrong with him. I'm fine. It's barely a scratch."

"A scratch? You call this a scratch?" She carefully lifted the gauze and saw that…he was right, for the most part. The cut was mostly superficial and a large portion of what she'd thought was laceration had cut only his flight suit. There was only one area that was still oozing small amounts of blood, far less than what she had soaked up. "Where is all this blood coming from?"

"Allura…it's yours. You tried to protect me." He peeled the gauze from her hands, revealing two deep gashes across her palms. "Next time, don't try to catch the sword."

"I…" She didn't feel pain until she had spent several seconds staring down her hands, tenderly cradled in Lance's. She tried to remember the injury happening, but all she could see when she closed her eyes was Keith charging at Lance with his sword out. "I couldn't let him hurt you."

"Shh. I know. I know." She felt his lips on the crown of her head as he nuzzled against her hair. "I'd kill him myself if I thought he was in control when he did this." He continued in her head, _But he didn't hesitate when you stepped in front of me. He wouldn't hurt you any more than I would._

_What's happening to him?_

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out."

She jumped as someone knocked on the door just as he had moved the table out of the way. She tried to activate her Voltcom, but found she couldn't hold her bow or whip. While she had been trying to draw a weapon, Lance had opened the door of the exam room for Dr. Gorma. "Everybody okay, doc?"

"Nothing serious." Dr. Gorma immediately pulled on a pair of gloves. "A few minor bruises for the orderlies and Dr. Lunnen broke her nose running into a wall in the excitement." Allura heard Lance laughing in her head until Dr. Gorma continued, "Commander Kogane calmed down the moment he had been separated from the two of you, but he nevertheless agreed to be restrained until we can determine what is wrong with him."

"Restrained?"

"Standard soft medical restraints, Princess. Nothing extreme. Now, Commander, if you would sit on the examination table?"

Lance shook his head and guided her toward the table by her elbow. "It's nothing. Treat Allura first."

"Princess? You're injured?" She held out her hands. "My word. I'll fetch the derma gel."

Ten minutes later, Lance was laughing as Dr. Gorma finished bandaging her. "Aw, you've got little lobster claws!"

She wasn't sure what a lobster was, but she imagined it wasn't a compliment. Dr. Gorma had managed to leave her thumb and index finger free so she would have some dexterity as her hands healed over the next few days. "I _will_ pinch you."

"Although I wouldn't argue the Commander doesn't deserve it, I would recommend minimizing your activity over the next few days, Princess. Try to use your hands as little as possible." Dr. Gorma quickly took care of Lance's wound and walked out with the promise that he would check on Keith.

Lance didn't need to say anything, out loud or in her head, for Allura to know exactly what he was thinking. _Don't even…_

_What? Just because you'll need someone to be your hands for the next couple of days…_

"Sorry to interrupt!" Dr. Lunnen said as she burst into the room, white splint covering her swollen nose. "I've just come from taking some readings on Commander Kogane."

"Is he all right?"

"Are you wearing a piece of clothing I could take?"

Allura forgot that she was concerned about Keith's state of mind. "Excuse me?"

"Preferably something Lance hasn't been in contact with recently."

"Dr. Lunnen, this is…"

"I'm sorry, that must seem weird. Right, so I have a theory. I think Commander Kogane may have picked up on some of your signals, Princess, when you and Lance were first bonding. He then tried to send some of his own back, which you didn't respond to because you were only sensitized to Lance. With nothing to act in concert with, his brain chemistry goes haywire when he comes into contact with your pheromones now."

"But this should have started before he left, shouldn't it? And Keith was fine with both of us, right?" She looked to Lance for confirmation.

"Yeah, he was fine until…well, he came and found us at the falls and he was acting a little weird, then you saw him out there."

"Well, to be honest, I tried not to stick around to see much." Dr. Lunnen rubbed her nose. "Anyhow, this is only a guess at this point. This isn't a well-studied phenomenon. In fact, I've only read about it happening once before. Normally, all the people around you wouldn't notice the unique pheromones you were sharing, but it's possible that…can I ask if your relationship had turned physical before Commander Kogane went on his trip?"

"Nope, after."

"That could explain it. Everything would have gone into overdrive after that, and he had no way to adjust because he wasn't here. I'm sure your combined chemistry hit him like…well, a wall. Anyway, I've got the Commander hooked up to my monitoring equipment and I'd like to see how he responds to something with your pheromones on it, Princess."

Allura was still dubious. "Can't I just go in and talk to him?"

"I think it would be safer this way. He's agreed to be restrained for the moment, while we determine how to deal with the situation, if I'm right and this is actually what we're looking at."

"But he doesn't want to hurt me." She looked down at her hands. "Does he?"

"No, he simply wants to replace Lance. I'm not sure how that will manifest when Lance isn't in the same room. To confirm my theory, I want to try this without putting anyone in danger. So, clothing?"

"I have a tank on under my flight suit." She held up her bandaged hands. "But I can't exactly take it off without assistance at the moment."

Dr. Lunnen pulled a pair of gloves from a box on the counter. "I'm sure Lance will help. Just try not to touch it too much. I don't want Keith getting too much of _you_ rather than the Princess."

Lance didn't waste time once Dr. Lunnen had left the room, snapping on the gloves. "Right, let's get you out of those clothes."

"Lance…"

"Hey, I just got a doctor's order to strip you. You can't say no." Although he remained eager, she had to admit he was surprisingly considerate about her injured hands as he helped her get out of the top of her flight suit so he could remove her tank top. He handed it out the door and removed his gloves a moment later. "Well, since you're topless…"

She rested her forearms on his broad shoulders. Their foreheads touched, but she didn't try to meet his lips, instead closing her eyes and enjoying his embrace as he stroked her back. _I hope we're all in control again soon._

_All?_

She opened her eyes to look into his. _You know we can't go on like this indefinitely. How can we fly our Lions or rule Arus if all we can think about for more than five minutes at a stretch is each other?_

_It's…okay. We'll figure it out. We may have to wait until we've finished bonding, though. In the meantime…_

She allowed herself to get lost in his kiss, wishing that she could return his soft caresses with some of her own. She was on the verge of suggesting escaping back to her room, _their_ room when Dr. Lunnen burst through the door again. "This is the best research I've ever done!" She bounced on the balls of her feet as she tapped rapidly on her tablet's screen, not noticing or not caring that Lance was discreetly helping Allura back into the top portion of her flight suit. "I wasn't even sure it could happen, but the data doesn't lie! Can you believe an attempted three-way bond?" She finally looked up with an excited grin.

Allura felt an unexpected possessiveness in his touch as Lance pulled her closer. "Um, I don't wanna bond with Keith."

"Oh, you won't. Neither of you will. In fact, Lance, if you don't keep away from each other, he's just going to try to kill you again and again until he eliminates the competition."

"But that's…"

"That's biology," she said with a shrug. "And can I just say that this just keeps getting more and more interesting the longer I stay here!"

"Yeah, great for you," Lance muttered. Allura rested her head on his shoulder. "Hold on, you said he wants to kill me, but how come I don't want to kill him?"

"Your bond with the Princess is strong enough at this point that you don't see him as a credible threat. Romantically, I mean. I wouldn't give him a sword when he's around you for a few days. I wish I'd been able to get some baseline readings on him. I'll have to talk to Dr. Gorma and see if…" she continued to talk to herself as she left the room.

"Think that means we're dismissed?" Lance turned toward Allura. "Great. Can't fly the Lions, can't be near Keith, can't be apart for more than ten minutes." He settled his hands on her waist. "Okay, that last one isn't a legit complaint, but the other two stand."

She could sense he was putting up a brave front for her sake and pecked his lips to show her appreciation. "I think I just need to lie down for a little while."

"If by 'a little while' you mean the next three days, count me in." He waved to Dr. Gorma, who nodded as they left the infirmary. "Maybe we could save ourselves a lot of trouble by just staying in bed until we've finished bonding."

"It is tempting, but…"

She couldn't finish her thought as Coran nearly ran into them as he walked around the corner. "Ah, Princess, Commander. I've been looking for you."

Lance gave him a guilty look. "Your office?"

"Indeed." He nodded gravely, but his manner became more caring as he looked down. "Princess, your hands!"

"It's nothing, Coran." She realized she had been almost as concerned about this conversation as she had about the one with Keith, though, given the events of the past hour, her concerns now seemed silly. She tried to smile at her trusted advisor. "Why don't we fill you in once we get to your office?"


	30. Chapter 30

Lance took the cup of tea Coran offered him and pretended to take a sip. He would have preferred coffee or, even better, a stiff drink. He needed one after the day he'd had. It could have been worse, he reflected, watching Allura awkwardly hold her teacup with her bandaged hands. He picked at the torn edge of the front of his flight suit and realized how lucky he was.

_Leave your bandage alone._

_Please don't ever do that again._

She quirked an eyebrow in his direction. _Repeat the doctor's instructions?_

_Jump in front of a weapon for me. _

_Then you can't do it for me either._

_No deal. Crown Princess of Arus gets priority even for people who aren't madly in love with her._

Coran cleared his throat as he prepared his own tea and sat down behind his desk. Every previous time Lance had been in Coran's office he had been receiving a reprimand for one thing or another – mostly relating to his conduct with visiting princesses or female diplomats. He could only imagine the talking to he was going to get this time. Not that there was anything Coran, or anyone other than Allura for that matter, could say to change things. Lance wanted to reach for her hand, but settled his hand on her knee instead.

For his part, Coran looked fairly calm. "Quite a lot has changed during my time away. The castle is certainly abuzz with talk about you two."

Allura almost tipped her teacup over as she tried to set it on the desk. "I suppose it's a good thing my birth control injection is up to date."

He quickly covered his shock with a tired sigh. "I must apologize for deceiving you. You must understand that I…"

"Did it for the good of Arus. I understand. You always want what's best for Arus. I can only hope you agree that what I want most will also be best for Arus." She paused, then stated simply, "Lance and I are in love."

"I realize that, Princess. You are bonding. It should be a cause for celebration."

"Should be?"

Coran nodded slowly. "You must understand that there are certain complications, Lance."

"He doesn't have to be crowned king." Allura moved like she was going to jump in front of him again even though there was no threat, so he squeezed her knee. He felt her relax under his touch. "He can be my consort."

"A consort does traditionally have a title."

"So we'll give him one. I'm going to marry Lance."

"I am not arguing that point, Princess."

Lance could feel her disbelief in his head mirroring his own as she exclaimed, "Really?"

"It is my belief that the people of Arus will accept your relationship with Lance once they learn you have bonded with him. I am merely trying to tell you that there could be major consequences to our relations with planets that had been hoping to make a favorable alliance with Arus via marriage if we were to make a sudden announcement. I believe it would be best if the public perception of your relationship develops more slowly."

Allura's smile lit up the entire room. "Then you don't object to my choice?"

"Although Commander McClain may not be the traditional selection, he has proven time and again during his service with the Voltron Force that he is an honorable man. As you love each other, I could ask nothing more." Coran suddenly stood. "But I must step away with Lance for a few minutes."

"We can't…"

"He will be back in no longer than ten minutes. Have another cup of tea, Princess." He opened the door and gestured impatiently. "Lance, if you would come with me?"

He was reluctant to leave Allura, but she didn't seem worried. It wasn't like Coran was going to shoot him or something, but…hell, why would he let something like that into his head? _What's he doing?_

_He probably wants to lecture you about how you should act around me in public. Make sure he doesn't keep you for more than ten minutes._

She was calmly sipping tea as Coran closed the door and set out down the hall at a faster pace than Lance had expected. He didn't have the same unquestioning trust in the advisor that Allura did. "Uh, Coran…"

"Please, do not speak. We must hurry."

Three minutes later, Lance didn't recognize the section of the catacombs they were rapidly walking through. It was definitely older and deeper than King Alfor's tomb. After a series of twists and turns he wasn't sure he'd be able to remember, he stopped behind Coran in front of a heavy wooden door. A musty smell joined the usual dankness as he pushed it open. "We are here."

"Okaaay." Lance used the light from his Voltcom to look around the gloomy chamber. It seemed more like a neglected museum than another tomb. The only strange thing was, despite the dust and cobwebs, all the artifacts, armor and weapons appeared clean. "What is this place?"

"The royal vault, containing the treasures and relics of countless generations of the Arusian royal family."

"It's…nice. I've never been down here before."

"We do not generally advertise it. Come."

Lance followed him to a stone plinth in the center of the large room. A broadsword lay on top of it, gleaming in the limited light in spite of the grimy state of its surroundings.

"Please." Coran gestured toward the sword. "Take up the sword."

Lance hesitated. For reasons he couldn't quite understand, this seemed like a big deal. He felt like there should be more pomp and circumstance and… He shrugged and reached for the sword. Gripping it easily in his right hand, he lifted it from the plinth. "Huh. I thought it would be heavier."

He couldn't tell in the shadows, but Coran may have been surprised. "Kneel."

Lance went down on one knee, unsure of what to do with the sword. "Uh, should you take this? Are you going to knight me or something?"

"No. You are going to make a vow to Princess Allura."

"But she's not here."

He continued as if Lance hadn't spoken, "In the presence of the spirits of the Royal House of Arus, you will pledge your loyalty, life and love to the Crown Princess of Arus. Should you break this pledge…"

"I don't need to know the consequences." Lance held the sword in front on him, point resting on the floor. "I promise that I will love her, that I will be true to her and that I will protect her with my life."

"I trust that you shall. Rise."

Lance didn't feel any different as he stood. He had already made the same commitment to Allura directly, more or less. He gave the sword a final flourish before setting it back on its plinth. "Is that it?"

Coran nodded and led the way out of the room and back toward more familiar passages before saying, "I must ask that you not tell Princess Allura where I brought you or what transpired."

"Why not?"

"You do not wish to keep secrets from her."

"No. I don't think that's a bad thing."

"No." He patted Lance's shoulder in the way an uncle one rarely saw would. "In time, she will learn, but not yet."

"Have you been talking to King Alfor?"

Coran smiled mysteriously. "I suggest you hurry back to Princess Allura before you begin to get ill."

It was the only thing Coran had said or done that made sense since they'd entered the catacombs. "Are you coming?"

"Allow an old man his leisure walking back to his office."

"Right, thanks!" Lance took off at a sprint, unsure if his rising dizziness was due to the strange, cold air of the tombs or the beginnings of Separation Sickness. He didn't particularly care as he saw Allura running toward him in the hallway outside of Coran's office.

"Lance!" He caught her in his arms as she charged at him, picking her up in a tight embrace. _I was starting to worry._

_Have I ever told you how good you smell?_ He buried his face in her neck, trying to hide in the curtain of her hair.

_Don't try to distract me. What happened with Coran?_

"Oh, nothing much," he mumbled into her soft skin. "He just made me promise I wasn't going to break your heart or cheat or anything like that."

"How could he think you would ever…?"

"He's just looking out for you. I think he wanted to reassure himself more than anything." Although Lance believed what he was saying, he knew he was leaving out something critical. "Weren't we headed to your bedroom before that interruption?"

* * *

><p>Coran waited until Lance had disappeared around the corner to make a left.<p>

King Alfor was already waiting, standing beside his tomb. "You are satisfied."

"I should not have doubted your highness."

"Your wish is to protect my daughter and our planet. I can find no fault."

"How shall we proceed now that…"

"The true ceremony will occur before their wedding."

"And the wedding?"

The king smiled serenely. "They will decide."

"Very well, your highness." He bowed as the king disappeared.


	31. Chapter 31

Keith was about to rip through his restraints, fully conscious of how bad it would appear in terms of his emotional stability. Mostly he was annoyed with himself for his lack of self-control, demonstrated every time this strange neurologist waved a piece of Allura-scented fabric under his nose. Like disturbing clockwork, he would try not to inhale, lose that battle, then feel his brain drift away as he breathed her in. The overwhelming _need_ for her would cause him to struggle, swear, demand they bring her to him. When the clouds lifted, he would find himself alone with Dr. Lunnen and a raging hard on. She didn't seem embarrassed about it, merely commenting on his apparently fascinating brianscans as she scratched at a bandage on her swollen nose.

He breathed unscented air deeply, trying to regain control of both his body and mind. This was utterly ridiculous. "Is this going to take much longer?"

"I don't usually have a captive patient," Dr. Lunnen replied with a laugh. "Besides, we can't let you leave until we've figured out a way to stop you from killing Lance in order to have the Princess all to yourself."

"But I don't want Allura like that!"

"Your mouth says no, but your brain says yes in big flashing letters." She reached over to adjust a sensor on his temple. "It's nothing personal, though."

"Not personal?" He could hardly imagine anything more personal than the thoughts about Allura that kept rising unbidden in his mind. The more he tried to tell himself that she had chosen Lance and not him, the harder his imagination worked. Squeezing his eyes shut didn't help, but he did it anyway. "From what you told me, only people who love each other are able to bond."

"Oh, I'm not saying you don't have any feelings for her. If you didn't, you wouldn't have reacted to her pheromones. But that's so not my field. The Princess and Lance are in love and you're going to have to resolve anything related to that one on your own. I'm just here for your brains. Feelings are another department entirely. To be perfectly honest, I try to avoid the psychology types."

Keith forced himself not to ask if the aversion was mutual. "Can I at least have a chance to apologize to them?"

"You can't be anywhere near them until they've completed their bonding and stopped secreting the pheromones you're having such an intense reaction to."

"Fine, I'll stay strapped down while they're here."

"Commander, you don't seem to understand. The moment you come into contact with Lance, your brain chemistry is going to direct you to eliminate him. You won't _want_ to apologize to him so much as tear his head off once he's here."

"Can I talk to them via vidscreen then?"

"Hm. That may work. You won't be inhaling anything so, yes…" She made a move like she was going to wave the fabric under his nose again, but she thankfully put it in a plastic bag. "Okay, we'll set that up. I'd also like to get you into your Lion at some point to see if the same kind of changes we saw in the Princess and Lance are also affecting you."

"I may not be able to fly my Lion because of this?"

"We won't know until you try!"

"But didn't they start this bonding thing before I left? And I didn't have problems with Black while I was with the Qirillians."

"I think it was four or five days into the bonding that their brain chemistry had changed enough to create a disruption in their bond with their Lions. That's probably about the amount of time you've had since you first picked up on the Princess' bonding pheromones." Lunnen's cheerfulness was really starting to grate on him. She obviously didn't appreciate the implications of being down three Lions with only two cadets able to take over. They wouldn't even be able to form Voltron. Shit. He tensed up as if an attack were imminent.

"Commander? You seem to be having a serious stress reaction."

"I have to make sure I can fly Black Lion." He tried to jump off the gurney, only to be reminded that he was restrained. "Find out where Lance and Allura are and make sure they stay out of the way while we're in the Control Room."

"I'll have to consult with Dr. Gorma about…"

"Do it." Keith could only hope Gorma, being more used to the workings of the castle, would understand how serious the situation was.

Five minutes later, he was handcuffed, walking between two orderlies and three castle guards on his way to the Control Room. If this is what it took to get around the castle, he was willing to stay strapped to a gurney for two days. The looks he was getting from everyone they passed were very disconcerting. He wasn't used to leaving the maids in terror. This must have been how Nanny used to feel, assuming she didn't enjoy it. She probably did.

Worse than the indignity of being marched around the castle like a dangerous criminal, Lance and Allura had been informed that he was going to be out of the infirmary and had promised to stay in her bedroom until he was no longer roaming the halls, meaning they had already been in her bedroom and it hadn't just been Keith's imagination that Lance had sounded out of breath. That was enough to spike his blood pressure without smelling Lance, or whatever it was Dr. Lunnen said would set him off. She gave him a look between the shoulders of the guards walking in front of him. "Everything okay?"

He was definitely not a fan of being constantly monitored. "I don't like feeling like an outlaw. I've had enough of that to last a lifetime, and I hadn't done anything wrong then, either."

"It's only until we get to your Control Room."

"Yeah, great," Keith grumbled angrily under his breath. They passed a guard leading a group of people he didn't recognize, one of whom pointed to him in alarm. Even Pidge and Hunk looked at him with suspicion when they finally arrived in the Control Room. It may have been the longest walk of his life. He held up his restrained hands. "Can somebody uncuff me?"

The guard who unlocked him wasn't very apologetic. "Sorry about this, Commander, but we have to consider the Princess' safety first."

"She's not the one I'm trying to hurt, apparently."

"Collateral damage, then?"

"What are you talking about?"

Dr. Lunnen didn't look up from her tablet as she started hooking it into one of the holoscreens. "Oh, when you attacked Lance in the infirmary she tried to protect him and cut her hands on your sword. Dr. Gorma said it wasn't serious."

Keith's mood reached a new low. "I didn't…why can't I remember that?"

"You understand the precautions, though?" the guard asked, looking deadly serious.

"I would never intentionally hurt Allura."

"Intentions aren't my concern, sir." He held out Keith's Voltcom. "Nothing personal."

"Yeah." He rubbed his wrists before putting it on. "Have the dungeon ready for me when I get back."

"We don't…"

Pidge interrupted, "Now, Keith, when Lance and Allura were in their Lions the other day, they both felt like they didn't have complete control. We don't want you to take Black Lion out of his den, just get in the cockpit and see how it goes."

"How long should I stay?"

"As long as you want. The more time you spend in your Lion, the more data I'll get," Dr. Lunnen said with a grin.

Walking toward his chute, Keith was sure being away from everyone's wary eyes would make him feel better. And he always felt like he was in control in Black's cockpit. He descended into the den with renewed confidence.

Black's authoritative voice was in his head before he had settled into his pilot's seat. _You are changed._

"Not by choice, believe me." He gripped the controls and felt the familiar vibration of the ignition sequence. "Are we going to have a problem?"

_We will not. But you will not come between them._

"How do you know about…?"

_The pilots of your pride have disrupted mine. We will have peace when they have fully joined._

He felt a twinge of annoyance at the declaration. "Oh, so you're on their side?"

_I do not take sides. I speak the truth. You cannot come between them._

"Can't as in shouldn't or can't as in not physically possible? What am I saying? I can't even consider that anymore. They're _bonding_."

_Bonding is not to be taken lightly._ Black actually sounded offended.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't…it happened so fast." He didn't normally confide in Black, but he had no one else he could really turn to at the moment. He started to ramble, "I knew there was something there, but I didn't realize it would be set in stone before I even had a chance to…not that I would have tried to, but…it just doesn't seem fair that one minute she was…and the next…"

_Be firm._

"That's your advice?"

_Your love for her is best forgotten if you cannot find a different way to express it._

"I never said…I'm not in love with her. I just…resent that Lance…he waited until I was gone then somehow made it so I would never even have a chance to…"

_Lie to yourself. Not to me._

"I'm just trying to explain…"

_Men speak too much. Lions do not need such complications._ The systems abruptly shut down, leaving the cockpit in darkness.

He was about to attempt further argument when he was interrupted by the comms, "Keith, come in. Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, Pidge." He stood with a heavy sigh. "I think everything is fine here."

"Are you going to be able to fly Black?"

"Should be okay." He ran a hand along one of the instrument panels and it flashed in response. "I think he's just annoyed with me right now."

"Good. We didn't see anything like the readings we got when Lance and Allura were in the Lions last."

"I'm on my way back up," Keith said before cutting off the comms. He spread his open palms against the rear bulkhead of the cockpit. "I know I had my chance. Just give me some time to get used to…them."

_Do not take too much time. Unity flows from the leader. Keep your pride strong._

"Right. You too." He wasn't sure, but it almost sounded like Black was laughing as he left.


	32. Chapter 32

Allura snuggled against Lance, feeling his stubble scrape against her nose as she kissed his neck. He smelled so, so good – earthy and alive and like the only man she ever wanted to inhale. She wanted to run her hands over him, but she was limited by her bandages. For his part, his hands were roaming all over her body, finding places she didn't realize were sensitive to touch. She squealed as he found a spot on her stomach coming around her waist.

"Interesting," he cooed, running his thumb over the patch of skin, setting off a series of tingles deep in her abdomen. "I think I can feel that." She shivered as he continued to stroke the spot with his calloused fingertips. "Oh, yeah. As if I didn't enjoy touching you before."

"Now you're just teasing me."

"I certainly hope so."

"I meant…" she trailed off as she felt his excitement increasing against her thigh. "Already?"

"Magic sex pheromones, remember?" He tightened the arm he had around her waist to pull her on top of him. "Unless you don't want…"

"Oh, I…" She tried to push up against his chest to get a better angle, forgetting that she couldn't use her hands without a lot of pain. "Oh!"

She was suddenly on her side, face to face with Lance as he held her hands. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…you're not bleeding, are you?" He kissed where her fingertips were just visible at the edge of the gauze. "I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything."

"I know, but I know how you like to, y'know, position yourself when you're on top. Why don't we just…" He pulled her leg over his hip and pressed against her. "If you're still in the mood."

Slipping her arms around his neck, she pulled him into an easy, relaxed kiss, continuing it even as he slipped inside her. _Mmm, why does this feel so good?_

_We're both…_ She immediately stopped trying to think and gave herself over to the intensity of the experience. He grasped her ass, pulling her hips into him with each thrust. She could feel him penetrating to her very core. She never lost contact with his mouth as sensation crashed through her body with each movement. She may have been chanting his name in rhythm with their lovemaking, but she couldn't be sure what was out loud, what was in her head. She could barely tell where she ended and he began as the heat built, threatening to drive her out of her mind. Losing her last tenuous thread of control, she cried out as the floodgates broke, drowning her in pure pleasure. Just as she thought it was ending, she was overcome with a second wave. "Lance!"

She could feel everything as he gave his final few thrusts, growling out his own expression of satisfaction. His grip on her body didn't relax as they caught their breath. "You…we…" _I hope we never get used to it._

_Amazing._ The kiss she pressed against his mouth was relatively chaste, which she realized was a somewhat silly distinction considering she was naked, wrapped around him as he softened inside her. _Lance._

"Allura," he whispered breathlessly into her ear. She wasn't sure how long they lay in their afterglow embrace, but he eventually said, "You think we can share more than just pleasure?"

She raised her head from where she had buried it between his shoulder and neck. "What do you mean?"

"Well, like…you're in pain right now."

"I am?"

"I know I'm damn good at sex, but…" He grinned. "Your hands?"

She blinked, not remembering that anything was wrong with her hands until she caught sight of the bandages. She could suddenly feel a dull ache as she tried to move them. "It isn't bad."

"But it could be better."

"No, Lance," she protested, finally understanding what he was getting at. "I'm fine."

"Allura…" _I love you. Let me do this._

_I don't even know how to…_

_Just let it flow._

She felt his fingers ball into fists against her lower back as he winced. "Does it hurt less?"

"No."

"Well that's unfortunate. I guess the whole feeling what you feel thing means feeling exactly what you're feeling. Great for sex, not so much for pain."

She pecked his lips. "I appreciate the effort. I guess we should stick with positive feelings."

"Hey, I figured if I could help…" He brought one hand up to brush her hair out of her face. "But, on the other hand, now I don't have to feel bad not sharing the experience of childbirth with you."

She sighed into his chest. "Let's not think about that just yet."

"Sorry. Once I got it in my head that I'm gonna be a dad…someday, I mean." He stroked her arm lightly as he held her. "So…do we have plans for the rest of the day or are we just going to stay in bed and have your staff bring dinner up?"

"I think we should find out how Keith is doing."

"Besides plotting my gruesome death?"

She closed her eyes, settling against him with a yawn. "You know he can't help it."

"Doesn't mean it doesn't make me nervous. Keith doesn't need a Voltcom sword to kill me. He's more than capable with his bare hands. This is why I think it's a good idea to spend the next couple of days right here."

"Don't you think we'll get bored?"

"Blasphemy!" He adjusted his position slightly, freeing his arm a bit. She was just starting to doze off when he said, "We could go back to Silvanus Falls and try to find the sword you dad mentioned."

"Not tonight. Tomorrow." Something that had been bothering her suddenly banished sleep from her thoughts. "It's so strange. I didn't even realize King Storos' sword _was_ lost. I had always thought it was another name for the Sword of the Gods."

"Uh, right. That one."

"It's the one used in the Ceremony of King's Sword."

"Of course. King's Sword."

She rolled her eyes. "You know, if _I_ were going to marry the ruler of a planet, I think it would make sense to learn a little something about the planet's history."

"I'm more concerned with the present," he kissed her, dragging his fingertips across her stomach, "and future."

"You're not getting out of learning about Arusian history by seducing me."

"What? I'll sit in on some of the cadets' history classes. And once I get back in Red, I'll ask him to tell me all about Storos. Hey, maybe he'll know something about the sword." He kissed her right breast before taking her nipple into his mouth as he caressed the left with his warm hand. _Now about that seduction you mentioned…_

She laughed as she enjoyed his dedicated attention to her chest.


	33. Chapter 33

Keith frowned as he sat down for dinner with Hunk and Pidge. The castle guards had agreed to let him walk around the castle unescorted while they stood watch outside Allura's room, where she would be dining privately with Lance. He didn't particularly want to come face to face with _that_ anyway, regardless of the level of danger he did or did not pose to Lance. Why did Lance have to go and bond with Allura? Like it was asking so much to just restrain yourself and let the team function as usual? Like it was so hard to keep your hands off a beautiful woman who wanted you just as much as you…

Ordering himself to think about something else, Keith took a deep breath. He scratched at his bare wrist. He wasn't allowed to take his Voltcom out of the Control Room, which added to his frustration. He stared down at his empty plate for a few moments before asking, "Where are the cadets?"

"Still eating with Daniel in the infirmary." Pidge was poking at a potato-like dish with the serving spoon. "I think he's going to be out and up on crutches next week, so things will start getting back to normal."

Keith snorted incredulously, but Hunk, who was eagerly loading his plate with food from the dishes in front of him on the table, didn't seem to notice. "I'd make a joke about hospital food, but I think they're getting the same thing we are." He stabbed a large piece of meat on his fork and shoved it into his mouth. "Pretty good."

"Hm." Keith spooned food onto his plate indiscriminately and started eating without really tasting. Aside from a group of people he didn't know sitting across the room, they were the only ones in the main dining room. Pidge and Hunk continued to talk about…something. He wasn't really paying attention, distracted by his preoccupation with Lance and Allura. What were they eating the same thing, or did the chefs make them a special meal? Were they too focused on other physical concerns to notice hunger? Most importantly, was this morbid curiosity about exactly what they were doing a product of his current brain problems or indicative of a larger…

No, it was the current brain problems. Definitely.

He blinked and found that he was sitting alone, staring at a cold plate of uneaten food. He vaguely remembered Hunk and Pidge saying they would see him later, but he couldn't recall seeing them leave. Odd. He pushed the congealing lumps of food around with his fork, wondering if that would make them more tempting.

"Did they find you not guilty?"

"Excuse me?" He looked up from his plate and confronted a smiling, dark-haired woman he didn't recognize from the other group in the dining room, the rest of which was leaving. "I don't know you."

"Rina." She held out her hand expectantly. After a moment's hesitation, he shook it. "You're Commander Keith. The Black Lion."

"I know who I am."

"I like that. Confidence without being cocky. It's one of the hallmarks of Black Lion pilots through history." She sat down in the chair across from him without being invited. "I'm a postgrad in Arusian history at the university. We're here for the King Storos armor."

"Right. You were out at the waterfall earlier." The uncomfortable confrontation with Lance and Allura flashed through his mind. "Sorry, but I just got back to Arus. What armor?"

"Oh, that Red Lion jerk found a piece of the lost armor of King Storos yesterday. Sorry, Red Lion _pilot_."

Though it was difficult, Keith forced himself not to agree with her original statement. "Lance takes some getting used to, but," he swallowed hard, his throat dry, "he's ultimately a good guy."

"I'll take your word. He did help us find the full set of armor at Silvanus Falls today. No idea how he did it. It was like he had some kind of internal sensors helping him find it. Very weird."

"There's been a lot of that going around." He finally gave up dinner as a lost cause and pushed his plate aside. "So what's this armor I keep hearing about?"

"The lost armor of King Storos. He ruled Arus over six hundred years ago and was the last king to pilot the Red Lion. According to the historical record, he was also an insufferable prick."

He laughed in spite of his mood. "That the official record?"

"Well, it was his chief advisor's opinion." She leaned across the table confidentially. "I'm inclined to believe him. Red Lion pilots have a tendency toward insubordination, egotism and recklessness. Not the easiest king to deal with, I'm betting, even if he did guide Arus to victory through the Parlissian Wars. I mean, even the armor – it's covered with reliefs of the Red Lion."

"What's wrong with that? He was Red's pilot."

"True, but he was also the king. You'd think he'd want to include Voltron on his ceremonial armor." She settled into her chair and crossed her arms. "Personally, I think that's why it was 'lost.' Someone didn't want their father or grandfather looking like self-obsessed ass, so they got rid of it. In that context, I guess it makes sense the new Red Lion pilot found it. What is that guy's problem? Every time he found another piece of the armor he had to go right up to the surface to show it off to the Princess, trying to impress her or something. Like that idiot has any chance to…"

"Stop." For a moment, Keith felt like himself again. "Look, I may not be Lance's biggest fan right now, but I'm not just going to sit here and let you shit on him. You don't even know him."

"I'm…sorry." She stood abruptly. "I just thought…from the way you were looking at him in the clearing, I didn't think you liked him very much."

"I…it's complicated. He's a good friend and has been for a long time, even if…I don't always agree with his choices."

"Right. I shouldn't have…he really just rubbed me the wrong way."

"Yeah, he does that." Keith stood and extended his hand. "It was nice meeting you, Rina."

"You too, Commander. Black Lion has always been my favorite."

"Um, thanks." He walked out of the dining room feeling better than he had all day – at least until a castle guard informed him he would have to take the long way to his quarters to keep him from passing Allura's door. He decided to try talking to them as soon as he reached his room.

* * *

><p>Lance wrapped the sheet from Allura's bed around his waist and poked his head into the outer room of her suite. The table was fully set – the chime ten minutes ago had let them know their dinner had been delivered – but he collected the covered dinner plates and returned to the bedroom. He spared a grin for the thoroughly tousled bed before continuing out to the balcony. The moon was shining brightly on Allura, wearing only a robe as she lit the candles on the small table. He paused to watch her for a moment. How could she be so beautiful? He leaned over to kiss her cheek as he set the plates down. "I'll be right back with the champagne. I honestly didn't think there was that much of it left."<p>

She was suddenly in his arms, nuzzling his neck. _I love you._

_Love you, too._ "Though I think I should probably confess that all I'm doing is carrying the stuff your staff brought up from one room to another."

She turned a dazzling smile up at him. "I just…I'm really happy, you know?"

"I know. Me too."

"I never thought I could have this. Every Arusian girl dreams she'll meet her perfect man…"

"I'm not perfect," he mumbled.

"…and bond with him and have the kind of epic love story from the old romances, but I never really thought I…"

She suddenly buried her face in his bare chest, where he could feel her tears, warm and wet over his heart. _Allura, don't. Don't cry. Please? Please don't cry._

_I'm sorry. I just…I love you and I never knew I could feel this way or have this._

He dipped his head to inhale the sweet scent of her hair. _Y'know, in fairy tales, the princess always lives happily ever after with her Prince Charming. I know I'm no prince, but I'm charming. So you've got that._

Her laughter in his head was beautiful. _In real life, the princess has to marry the prince who makes the best ally for her planet, even if he's repulsive._

_Hey._ He lifted her chin to get her to look into his eyes. _If any repulsive prince comes near you from now on, I'll kick his ass._

"Thank you," she whispered, tears still shining in her eyes.

"Come on. What brought this on?"

"I was just looking out over the landscape and thinking…I was thinking about how I have a future now. I know, I know, I've always had my future set as Queen, but there was just so much I never felt like I could control. Now it's settled and it's what I want and I'm happy."

"You're still crying."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize. I just…I don't want to make you cry. Especially about good things." He ran his thumbs along her cheekbones as he wiped away her tears. "That's not the only thing though. You're upset."

"No."

He leaned his forehead against hers. "About Keith?"

"I said I'm not…yes."

"We're all gonna be fine in a few days. We'll probably look back on this and laugh."

"Lance, he tried to cut your head off with a sword."

"And he's gonna feel terrible about it." He grasped her shoulders. "Allura, we have each other. You and me, this is for the rest of our lives. Keith is our friend and he's going to be happy for us, but you have to remember that he's also a little disappointed. What if you had kissed him in the garden that night, started bonding with him?"

"But I didn't…I wouldn't!"

"Try to see it from Keith's point of view. This…we happened so fast. To him, it's like…like he blinked and everything was different. Not only that, but he comes back to find out that the change is permanent. He no longer has any chance to be with the most perfect woman in the universe."

Her gaze was dubious. "You're saying that Keith is jealous?"

"Yeah, if you want to keep it simple. He and I have always been competitive." He reluctantly let go of her and walked over to the railing, leaning his forearms against it as he looked out over Arus. "Back at the Academy, anything he did, I had to one up and vice versa. It's always been that way between us when there was something we both wanted – to be the best pilot, the best strategist, the best fighter. And here…we've been competing for you, but you're not an obstacle course or a race. It was going to be your choice which one of us…won, I guess, if either of us did. And now, no matter what he does, he can't ever beat me."

He felt the gauze from the bandages on her hands on his bare back in the cool night air. "How am I just finding this out now?"

"I seem to remember mentioning it a couple of days…"

"No, I mean…how have I been so naïve for so long? We had already started _bonding_ by the time I could admit how I felt about you." She melted into his embrace as he turned and wrapped his arms around her. "Most people are in committed, loving relationships for years before they can bond but we…we started with our first kiss. And then come to find out that you and Keith had been contemplating a relationship with me for as long as you've been on Arus. Looking back, it should have been obvious, but I never suspected. I feel so stupid."

"Don't."

"But how can I not? I love you, Lance, but I don't want to hurt Keith because of that and now I'm learning there's no other way and I never…" She suddenly looked up at him. "Do normal women have these problems?"

"If by normal you mean women who don't have to consider the welfare of an entire planet while also actively protecting it from destruction on a regular basis by piloting a sentient robot Lion…probably not." He placed a brief kiss on the tip of her nose. "You're not normal. You're special. Hell, you're perfect."

_Stop saying that._

_It's the truth. In my eyes, you are perfect._

_I'm so lucky I'm with you._

_I'm the lucky one._ After a final kiss, he guided her to the table. "I'm also hungry. So let's eat. I'll be right back with the champagne." He ignored the buzzing vidlink as he walked past. Nothing was more important to him than Allura in this moment.


	34. Chapter 34

Sorry for the wait, all. Been busy. But there's M-rated content in the second half of the chapter to reward your patience.

* * *

><p>Keith gave up trying to fall asleep around three in the morning and swung his legs over the side of the bed. The floor was warm under his bare feet. Ever since the first time he had been in the Castle of Lions, it had felt warm to him – like home. Now that Allura was lost to him, he felt like it should be colder, less welcoming. How could it possibly be that the only thing changed could be in his head?<p>

He pulled on a t shirt and pair of jogging pants over the boxers he slept in before leaving his room on the way to the Control Room. Anything important enough to raise notice at this time of night would be communicated via Voltcom, making Keith even more aware of the bareness on his wrist. There were other ways they would let him know if something was happening, but…it couldn't hurt to be sure. Staring at the shadows on the ceiling wasn't accomplishing anything.

The Control Room was deserted, holoscreens running automated scans of both the area surrounding Arus and the distant Kuiper belt. There was still no evidence of ardillium, though Pidge had admitted it was unlikely they could pick up a properly functioning reactor at this distance. Keith felt a little better about the lack of success thus far as he snapped on his Voltcom and sank into the chair that appeared in front of the screens.

After watching nothing for over an hour, he was less optimistic. What he should have done was fly Black directly to the Kuiper belt to start investigating some of the larger objects. They knew the types of places Wade was likely to establish a hidden base, so it stood to reason there were only so many possibilities. He sighed. His possibilities had never felt so limited than they did in this moment. Even though it was late – or early – and even though he knew it was a bad idea, his finger pressed the internal comms.

To his surprise, the vidscreen activated after a few minutes. "Keith, is something wrong?"

"Allura." She was wearing a robe, possibly with nothing underneath it, her hair falling over her shoulders in unruly waves, her eyes still heavily lidded with sleep. She took his breath away for a moment, but he collected himself. "I mean, no, nothing's wrong. I just…I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh." She smiled shyly and pulled her robe closed up to her neck. "Hi."

"Is this a bad time? Did I wake you?"

"Well, it's early, but we can talk. Lance is asleep." She glanced over her shoulder. If Keith listened carefully, he thought he could hear snoring. "Not that he would have a problem with…Keith, he knows you don't really want to kill him."

Although he didn't particularly want to spend this unexpected solo conversation with her talking about Lance, Keith had to concede it wouldn't make much sense if he tried to bring up the weather. "No. I don't. It's just that…this was kind of a lot for me to take in. I was only away for a couple days but I came back and everything was different."

"Everything, Keith? Really?"

"I know. One thing. But you have to admit it's a pretty damn big thing."

"True." She brushed her sleep-tousled hair behind one ear with a delicate gesture. "It was building for so long between us, but without either of us admitting it and when we finally did…it turns out we're perfect together. I've never felt like this before." She smiled brightly and Keith realized with a start that he had been imagining she was talking about him. "He and I are…we're…"

"You love each other." It hurt to say it out loud.

"We do."

"That's…that's…" He couldn't pretend any longer. He wasn't sure if it was the time or the lack of sleep or the brain chemistry, but he took a deep breath and said the most important thing he had never told her before, "I love you."

"Keith, I…"

"I'm not asking you to change your mind and pick me or something, but I apparently tried to bond with you, so it's not just in my head. It just makes me regret that I never told you how I feel. I should have told you every day that I love you. You deserve someone who'll do that."

"Don't do this to yourself. I care about you and I love you like family. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you, but…"

"I know. You can only bond with someone you love and you're bonding with Lance and that's the worst part, because I know he loves you and it makes me crazy that he was the one who was man enough to admit it to you." Now that he was talking, he found it hard to stop. "If I had said something, told you how I feel…could we have…"

"I don't know, but…I don't think so."

It was like a dagger in his chest. He swallowed hard. "As long as you're happy."

"I am."

"Good." He couldn't stop himself from adding, "If he ever does anything to hurt you…"

"He won't. Keith, you need to talk to him. You and Lance are friends. You can't give that up because of me."

"Yeah. I…I'll try calling at a more reasonable hour, I guess."

She smiled. "Get some sleep."

"Yeah, you…you too." He turned off the screen and reluctantly turned back to the scans.

* * *

><p>Allura watched the blank vidscreen for a moment before standing and slipping out of her robe as she made her way back to bed in the grey predawn light. Lance was still snoring as she snuggled up to his warm body under the covers. "You can stop pretending to be asleep now."<p>

"Who's pretending? I mean, uh…" he trailed off with a loud, fake snore.

She settled her head on the pillow just over his shoulder and stroked her bandaged palm over his chest. "I know you heard everything."

"Yeah." She felt his arm snake around her as he pulled her closer. "I'm not jealous."

"What do you have to be jealous of?"

"Uh…nothing?" His hold tightened. "Which is why I'm not."

She trailed her fingertips up to his cheek to turn his face toward her. _Liar._

_I'm not…not jealous, exactly. I just…I'm…_ "I always thought that someone else would get to be with you. And I was pretty sure it would be Keith, which would have made it worse. It'll just take me some time to get over that."

"We really overcomplicated this, didn't we?"

"Oh yeah. I should have just run up the stairs and swept you off your feet with the most romantic kiss ever the first moment I saw you."

"At which point Coran would have thrown you out of the castle and I never would have seen you again."

"I never said it was a good plan." He turned further into her and kissed her deeply. _At least I've got you now._

_You'll always have me._

_Never stop reminding me._

Her hand drifted down his stomach as his lips moved to her neck. She played with the curly hairs at the base of his hardening cock, occasionally giving a brief caress to his shaft. _How's this as a reminder?_

He groaned out loud as she teased him. _Getting there._ His hand was suddenly between her legs. _Do you need reminding of anything?_

In spite of the urge to clamp her thighs around his hand to keep it there, she pushed him away and took a firm hold of his cock in spite of her bandages. _I think you may need it more right now._

He gasped as she slid down his body, pushing the covers off as she went. He was already completely erect, angling upward toward his stomach. She ran her tongue along the underside of his length before taking him into her mouth. There was an immediate surge of pleasure through her own body. She bobbed up and down a few times before he was in her head again.

_Turn around._

_What?_

_Swing your hips up here. _

_But what about…?_

_Don't stop…just…same time…_

An image of what he wanted suddenly filled her head. She tried to exclaim her surprise out loud, but was unable to produce an intelligible sound with her mouth full of him. _Is that…?_

_NOW._

She maneuvered her body but couldn't keep him in her mouth as she did. "Sorry."

"Just…I need to taste you." He abruptly grasped her hips and pulled her the rest of the way onto his chest.

She almost bit down on him with the first touch of his tongue against her. It was hard to focus on her own task now that she was feeling both his pleasure and her own. _This is challenging._

_And awesome._

She came close to gagging as she took him in too deeply in response to his sliding two fingers into her. _Lance, I can't. Too much…_

"Allura…" She could barely hear as he spoke directly into her. _I'm close…so close._

_I…_ She swallowed on pure instinct as his flavor spurted into her mouth, pressing her hips against his face as she felt him come, wanting to share her own pleasure with him as he had with her. It didn't take long. She cried out around him and in her head. Every nerve in her body seemed to be alive with tingly, throbbing sensation. Bright lights flashed behind her eyes before everything went blank.

She wasn't sure how long it had been when she picked up her head from where it was resting on Lance's thigh, beside his soft cock. She could feel his breath, cooling her hot center as he panted with both their releases. His hands rested on the back of her thighs, kneading gently. _I think I passed out for a second._

She gave a happy sigh. _You have an amazing mouth._

_I'll remember that next time you tell me I talk too much._

_You don't even need your mouth for that anymore. _She rolled off him as she felt him trying to move beneath her and he was suddenly face to face with her, heads toward the foot of the bed. She smiled as she gazed into his loving eyes. _I can't believe this is my life now._

_Believe it, beautiful. _He ran his thumb over her chin. "Of course, I assume you aren't talking about having my come all over your face."

"I could be." She grinned and pecked his lips. "I love you."

"Love you, Allura." She could feel him breathing deeply as he buried his face in her hair. _And I know I have no reason to be jealous. Except of you, getting the benefit of me in bed with you. I always suspected I was fantastic between the sheets, but now I know for sure._

She laughed into his neck as he nipped her earlobe. _Good to know I'm learning from the best._

"Mmm." He suddenly turned serious. "I'll always be my best for you. I'll do everything I can to be the man you deserve."

She propped herself up on her elbow and laid her hand on his cheek. "You don't have anything to prove to me. I know the kind of man you are, Lance. I'm happy with you. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

"You are absolutely amazing." His touch ceased to be tentative as he pulled her into a strong embrace. She was perfectly content to offer him as much reassurance as he needed, wrapping her arms and a leg around him. This day was going to be wonderful.


	35. Chapter 35

Although Pidge was surprised to find Keith asleep, awkwardly sprawled in a chair in the Control Room, when he stepped in to check the overnight scans before breakfast, he was careful to be quiet as he looked through the data. He knew Keith was having a rough time with Lance and Allura's new relationship, not to mention his apparently murderous intentions toward Lance. Pidge spared a suspicious look at Keith's Voltcom, but shook it off in favor of data. Data, solid and reliable, he could understand.

The anomaly jumped out at him almost immediately, but that didn't make it easier to follow the trail. He was still performing his analysis when Keith woke on Hunk's loud entry over an hour later. "There you are, little buddy! Figured you found something, so I brought you some…oh, sorry, Keith. Didn't know you were here." He set a plate of pastry on the holographic console. "Plenty for you, too."

Keith stretched his neck with an audible pop. "Thanks, Hunk." He took the cup of coffee Hunk had also brought and sipped it calmly; Pidge was starting to feel like fate was telling him to stop drinking coffee altogether. "Pidge, you find something?"

"Something."

"You're gonna have to provide a little more detail."

"Well…I haven't seen anything that looks like an ardillium reactor, so I reset the scans last night to look for trace amounts of ardillium and I picked something up from the vicinity of Eris."

"The garbage dump?" Hunk asked around a bite of pastry.

Pidge frowned, but replied, "The dwarf plant Eris has unfortunately been used as a receptacle for space junk deemed too risky to leave adrift for the past few hundred years, making it the ideal location to hide an illegal ardillium reactor. The only problem is, based on this data, it's not there anymore."

"Not there?"

"I can say with some certainty that it had to have been moved within the last two days or I wouldn't be able to pick up any residual trail – unless it's way bigger than we thought. Then it could be up to four days old."

"Any idea where it went?"

"Only vaguely. Based on the trajectory," he pulled up a star chart that covered far more territory than he cared to describe, "anywhere on the map is possible. If we thought searching the entire Kuiper belt was going to be rough…"

Keith, however, had already crossed the room to point at a specific spot. "That's the Qirillian Empire, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's…"

"They went and got it." He punched his open palm with enough force to make Hunk wince from his spot beside Pidge. "Can you confirm the trail leads there?"

"Impossible. The trail disappears when the ship that had to be transporting the reactor sped up."

"Can you tell if a ship carrying a large amount of ardillium arrived in Qirillian territory?"

"Keith, that's only one possibility out of, literally, millions, one of which includes Doom. We can't just assume…"

"Who else knew about that reactor? Wade and the Qirillians. I was asking questions while I was there, made King Ablen nervous. He went and got back the evidence that he's been dealing in unregulated ardillium. If we don't get to it first, he'll probably just sell it off to the highest bidder."

Pidge started getting uneasy about Keith's intentions. "I just don't think there's enough…"

"Then let's go find it. How long's the trip from Eris to Qirillian territory?"

"At least three days, if not a little longer."

"Then they might not be back there yet. Let's get to the Lions. At least we'll be able to get some closer scans." He was already moving toward Black's chute. "Pidge, with me. Hunk, hold down the fort. Have the cadets on alert and get Lance and Allura out of bed for a while if you can."

This was too much. Pidge put his foot down. "Shouldn't we tell everyone what's going on first?"

Keith gave him an icy glare, but raised his Voltcom and pressed the comms button.

* * *

><p>Lance looked around Allura's bedroom for his leather jacket, but his eyes landed on the piece of armor he'd found at the bottom of the pool instead. He walked over to the nightstand where he'd left it and picked it up to look it over. After a moment's consideration, he held it against his left wrist and clipped the metal fasteners. Holding both arms out in front of him, he found he liked the symmetry it provided with his Voltcom; the fact that it featured Red in roaring mid-leap made it even more appealing. He walked over to one of the high windows and appreciated the glint of silver in the sun. Maybe wearing a whole suit of armor done up like this would be a bit much, but he had to admit he wouldn't mind holding onto the gauntlet.<p>

_You said you were going to give that to the research team from the university._

_Thinking out loud just got a whole new meaning, didn't it?_

_You don't have to share everything you're thinking. _

_Yeah, yeah. At least I wasn't picturing you naked like I usually am. Must control my naughty brain. _He shined up a smudge on the gauntlet against the fabric of his flight suit. "I'll give this to them when I see them." He glanced toward the bathroom door where Allura had just emerged and did a double take. "You have to warn a guy before you spring something like that on him!" He immediately regretted his choice to get dressed when she dropped the towel wrapped around her midsection to the floor. "Definitely better than the picture in my head. So hot. If I didn't have pants on I'd put you against the wall so fast…"

"How sweet." Her smile was enough to send a thrill through his entire body. "But I think we need to get back to business. We've been out of the loop for the past few days."

"Then what's another day or two?" He bit down on the inside of his cheek as she crossed the room toward him. He knew she could feel exactly what she was doing to him. Even better, he could feel her enjoying it. He rested his hands on the curve of her waist when she stopped in front of him. _You call your staff for breakfast, I'll strip. _

_I think not. The cadets have been out of classes for days, so Vince and Larmina should log some time in the simulators and I need to plan a visit to the southern continent that I've been putting off. I also have to speak with Coran about the trade summit next week on… _

"Okay, the voice in my head sounds way less sexy when you're talking scheduling."

She poked him in the chest with one of her few free fingers. "Get used to it. You're going to be stuck doing a lot more formal duties from now on."

He raised an eyebrow as he leaned back slightly to look her over. "I can handle that. I go to a few meetings, shake some hands, then sleep with you. I like it."

"Coran also wants to talk to us about an official announcement regarding the formal establishment of our courtship."

"Says the naked princess."

"I'm only naked because _somebody_ hasn't helped me get dressed." She pecked his lips before holding up her injured hands with a pout. "I can barely open the drawers."

"I'm not really seeing the motivation here. Besides, I like you with no clothes on."

"Lance…"

"Right." He walked behind her to the dresser near the bathroom door, appreciating the view while it lasted. "I'm behaving. I'm your respectful and obedient suitor." He had to keep repeating that mantra to himself as he clasped her bra and buttoned her pants. He zipped up the jacket of her flight suit with a final sigh.

She pecked his lips again with a wink. "You can do it in reverse tonight if you'd like."

_Like you need to ask._ He picked up her crown from the cushion where it rested and set it carefully on her head. _Am I gonna have to wear one of these?_

_It depends._

_On what?_

_I'll have to ask Coran…actually my father, I suppose, if we can hold a Ceremony of King's Sword for you._

"You said something about that before. What is it, exactly?"

"It's similar to…" She sat down in front of her mirror and rearranged her hair under her crown. "I remember reading something about an ancient king on Earth who received a sword. King Excalibur?"

"Oh, King Arthur." He stood behind her and started to rub her shoulders as she picked up her brush. "Excalibur was the sword. He pulled the sword from the stone to prove he was the true king of England."

Her smile was reflected back to him in the mirror. "And you claim not to be interested in history."

"Uh, to be honest, I think I saw a cartoon about it. There was a talking owl. Maybe a dragon. Hm. Is that what happens during this ceremony thing? Someone fights a dragon with a sword? Can I keep the gauntlet for that?"

"Why are you wearing it, anyway?"

"It's pretty cool." He leaned over so she could see it, which brought him close enough to inhale the scent of her hair with each breath. "Look, Red's about to deliver a serious beatdown. And it fits good, like a Medieval Voltcom. If I can find the King Storos sword, I'll be all set to go out and slay some dragons for you."

"Are dragons those lizards I saw on Earth? Why would you want to kill such harmless little things? Don't people keep them as pets?"

"No, I mean mythical giant fire-breathing dragons, not little lizards." He resumed massaging her shoulders. "It's a thing knights in shining armor do to impress the ladies. You slay the dragon, you get the girl."

"And if you already have the girl?"

"Uh, I honestly haven't read that much about dragons to have a good answer, so…why don't we just say they make out a little before…" He cursed his beeping Voltcom and took a few steps away from Allura to minimize his level of distraction. "What's going on?"

Keith replied, "Pidge and I are taking our Lions to investigate an ardillium trail from Eris to somewhere, possibly the Qirillian Empire."

"Eris? The trash planet?"

"Don't get Pidge started. It's possible the Qirillians were covering their tracks, so we're going to see if we can track where the reactor went after leaving the Kuiper belt or if we can pick up a ship entering Qirillian space with ardillium."

Lance scratched his scalp where hair was just starting to grow in around his mostly healed cut. "So are you going toward Earth or the Qirillians?"

Pidge answered, "Earth," simultaneously with Keith's, "Qirillians."

"So you're going opposite directions?"

"No, we're headed to the Qirillian Empire to see if King Ablen is in a more sharing frame of mind."

"Keith…" Pidge protested weakly.

Lance regretted he couldn't be in the Control Room to confront Keith face to face. He started to pace the bedroom as Allura looked on worriedly. "Are you sure it's the Qirillians?"

"No, which is why we need more information. We need to get going, Lance, not have a debate. If we can catch them bringing that reactor back…"

"How're you gonna do that?"

Keith took on the tone Lance himself had used when explaining the finer points of flying to especially dense cadets at the Flight Academy. "Scan for ships transporting large quantities of ardillium."

If Keith could play professor, Lance could give it back double. "Well, won't you just pick up a ton of ardillium in that area anyway? I mean, isn't that where all the ardillium comes from?"

Pidge sounded more confident when his voice came over the comms again, "Keith, he's right. We should go to Eris and investigate. We may be able to determine how much ardillium we're dealing with or get a clearer trajectory on where the reactor went."

Lance could almost see the set of Keith's jaw as he spat, "Fine. We're headed to Eris. Lance, if you and…maybe you could spend some time in the Control Room instead of just the bedroom today."

"Yeah. Good hunting." He deactivated his comms before Keith could sneak in another jab. Turning to Allura, he tried to smile. "Good thing we got dressed, huh?"


	36. Chapter 36

Allura intertwined her fingers with Lance's as best she could given her bandages as they walked from lunch to the Control Room. They had spent the morning running through simulator drills with Vince and Larmina, followed by a lively class Lance taught on tactics to all three cadets in Daniel's room in the infirmary. There had even been a minimum of awkward moments caused by her unavoidable presence and mostly connected to Daniel's question about applying battle tactics to picking up girls. Even then, Larmina had done most of the blushing.

Allura leaned into Lance as they entered the portrait hallway. _Have I ever told you that you're a good teacher?_

The corner of his mouth quirked upward. _What, you thought they made me the Flight Academy's youngest head flight instructor in history just because I look hot in a uniform?_

_I didn't mean it like that. I just…you do look hot in a uniform. _She tugged on his hand to get him to stop so she could look into his eyes and prove she was being serious. _I don't know if I ever really thanked you for the way you taught __**me**__ to fly. You were hard on me, but that was what I needed. I'd been coddled my entire life. No one had ever really challenged me like that before you did. _

_You had a lot of natural ability._

_Liar._

_That's the second time today you've called me a liar. _He grinned as he leaned toward her and pressed his lips against hers. _And the second time you've been wrong. You and Blue took to each other right off._

_You always try to make me feel better. _She deepened the kiss, tasting the spicy sauce from their lunch in his mouth. _It wasn't an insult. I know I was terrible when I first got into Blue. You did so much to help me. I want to make sure you know I know how much you did for me._ She felt her free fingers tangle in the hair at the base of his skull. _Without you, I would never have had a place on the Voltron Force._

_Don't make it sound totally selfless. We needed Voltron, so we needed a pilot. _

_And the GA wouldn't have sent one?_

He broke away from her lips and whispered into her ear, "Even if we didn't know it at the time, it's important to maintain a connection between Arus and the Lions. You were well worth training. Besides, it meant I got to spend more time with you."

_Thank you. _She didn't trust her voice as she blinked back something that was definitely not tears. _Listening to you with the cadets today…you were so…I want you to know that I appreciate your ability to educate. _She made an effort not to tell him, either out loud or mentally, that it made her think about what a wonderful father he was going to be. It was so easy to picture him holding a child in his lap, pointing out the different controls in Red's cockpit.

_Not while flying, of course. _

Her eyes shot open to meet his smiling ones. _I didn't mean to share that._

He chuckled. _At least we're both thinking about raising at least one little Lion pilot. _

_Not too soon._

_Nope. We need to have a lot more practice sex before we try any conceiving. _After a final bump of his nose against hers, he took her hand and started walking toward the Control Room again. "It's funny I ended up teaching, because I hated going to class when I was at the Academy. Well, any class they didn't let us get on the stick. Sitting in a room and talking about flying is pure torture."

"It doesn't show. You have a way of getting them excited even when they aren't in the Lions. And Daniel couldn't stop talking about your moves through the asteroid field a few days ago." She squeezed his hand as tightly as she could. "I wish I could have been there."

"Trust me, you don't." He paused in front of the portrait of King Storos. "I think I've walked by this guy every day since I've been here without realizing who he was. Look, he's even wearing the armor." Lance held up his arm to compare the gauntlet on his wrist to the one in the painting. "Whoever painted this did a pretty good job."

An unexpected voice joined the conversation, "Actually, he didn't. The painter included Voltron on the breastplate, when it should just be the Red Lion." Allura turned her head to the source of the interruption and narrowed her eyes as she recognized the disagreeable woman from the falls. The woman didn't acknowledge Allura's displeasure, but waved her hand dismissively at the portrait. "I think that may have been added later to make King Storos look a little less…I mean, Red Lion was his, but it's not like he could have accomplished anything without Voltron."

"While I absolutely agree the Parlissian Wars would have been lost without Voltron, I think you're underestimating how much a single talented pilot can accomplish with a Lion."

"Of course, Princess. I've studied the history of the Lions for years. I just thought that the king would give a little more credit to the rest of his team, although it's pretty characteristic of Red Lion pilots to be self-centered and…"

Allura folded her arms over her chest. "You do realize the line of inheritance leads directly from Storos to…"

"I meant no disrespect to your ancestors, Princess. It's just that when you spend enough time studying Lion pilots you really start to see the patterns pretty clearly, good leaders in Black, reckless Reds, intellectual Greens. Blue Lion pilots have had the reputation for being diplomatic peacemakers, so that's lucky for Arus right now with you as our future queen." The woman, Rina if Allura remembered correctly, stopped rambling and bowed briefly. "I was really just noting the differences between the portrait and the armor Commander McClain helped to recover yesterday. We are missing one piece…"

"Oh." Lance was reluctant as he unclasped his gauntlet. "Yeah, I've been carrying this thing around until I saw one of you university people."

"Carrying. Right." She accepted the armor with a wry smile. "Well, thank you. I'll bring this back to Dr. Tag so we can study the armor as a full set, although," she paused as she squinted at the gauntlet, "it looks like more Red Lion worship than…I should really get this back to the room you've so graciously provided for our use. Have a pleasant day, Princess."

Allura was about to comment on her dislike for the woman when Lance pulled her into a warm embrace, dipping her from the waist as he kissed her. She felt much better when he lifted her back to a standing position. "You looked like you needed that."

She couldn't help but smile in response. "I doubt there will ever be a time when I don't want a kiss from you."

"Mmm. Sounds good to me." He glanced over his shoulder in the direction where Rina had disappeared. "Is it just me, or is she kinda…"

"Bitchy?"

"I was gonna try to use a more Blue-approved diplomatic word, but…yeah."

"She seems to have a problem with Red Lion pilots, particularly you and Storos."

"Probably just mad that her metal detectors didn't work. Does she realize we're…uh…"

"I'm sure she'd have something more to say about Red Lion pilots being kings if she did."

"Hm. We should probably get to the Control Room." Lance pulled her the rest of the way; she was content to hold his hand in both of hers. She thought about other things she'd like to hold as he said, "Hey, Hunk. I told the cadets that you'd meet them in the hangar for a lesson on Lion maintenance this afternoon, so you've got about an hour for lunch right now."

Hunk stood and stretched, his large frame expanding as he did. "Great. Pidge and Keith should be getting to Eris in the next hour or so. Better you being here than me when they do. Anything good for lunch?"

"Some kind of spicy meatball thing with pasta stuff. It was pretty good."

"I do love meat in ball form. I haven't seen anything interesting in the area. Nothing around Qirillian territory either. Keith calls in every quarter of an hour or so to make sure. Have fun with that." He stood beside the holoscreens expectantly.

Allura squeezed his shoulder. "Hunk, I know Lance and I haven't exactly been involved with Voltron Force activities over the past few days, but…"

"No need to explain. I did a little reading up on bonding…or Pidge did and told me about it, so I know how important it is for you guys to focus on each other while it's going on. No offense taken for not coming to my movie night. I would like to say that I'd be a real good babysitter, and I can clear some space in my schedule if you need one in nine months or so."

Lance spoke up first, "Definitely not that soon."

"Just thought I'd throw it out there. I'll be eating or in the hangar if you need me."

"Thank you, Hunk." Allura waited until the Control Room door had closed behind him to give Lance a kick in the rear as he hunched over the control panel, pretending not to laugh. "I can't believe you put that image in my head."

His face was contorted in barely contained laughter as he stood. "Come on. Nanny Hunk? With the apron and the puffy hair thing? Freakin' hilarious."

"So you wouldn't trust Hunk as a babysitter?"

"'Course I would, just not dressed like that." He plopped into a chair, pulling her into his lap as he did. "Not that I really see how it's relevant at the moment. We're supposed to be monitoring the scans, not making babies."

"Don't start right now…" She could feel his intentions as she maintained her seat. Still… She could no longer taste lunch on him. _I really, really hope I'll be able to be around you without being constantly turned on once we've finished bonding._

_Can't promise anything, considering I've been turned on for years every time I've been around you._

They were saved the trouble of explaining to anyone why they were naked in the Control Room when a beep from the instrument panel interrupted them a moment later. Allura extracted herself from Lance's arms and stood to answer the comms. "Keith."

"Allura."

She self-consciously tried to flatten her hair where she knew Lance had been playing with it. "Have you arrived at Eris?"

"Just entering orbit now. Where's Hunk?"

"Lunch, then class with the cadets."

"Right. It looks like the ardillium really isn't here anymore, but that's no reason not to check out what Wade was up to. If he was close to an ardillium weapon…"

Lance suddenly joined the conversation, "It's not gonna be pretty when it goes off. Do you have a likely location for this base?"

"Pidge is pinpointing it now. Anything new we need to know before we check this place out?"

Allura could see Lance scanning data in her peripheral vision, but answered, "Nothing has pinged on Pidge's scans since we've been here, so you should be clear to move in. Just…be careful, Keith."

"We will. Keep your eyes on us."


	37. Chapter 37

Keith tightened his grip on the controls as Black glided over mounds of discarded scrap littering the icy surface of Eris. Although most of the metal was dull and shone only in the places the lights from Black and Green reflected off them, there were some disquieting places that glowed on their own in unnatural hues. Pidge seemed to be guiding them directly toward a reddish area that was periodically emitting brief showers of white sparks. Keith reactivated his vidscreen, which he had turned off after discovering Allura and Lance were now holding down the Control Room. He knew they were still listening over the comms as he said, "Pidge, is this the safest area we could be in?"

"No, but this appears to be where the residual ardillium concentrations are strongest. And I'm detecting a network of tunnels beneath the surface. I think there may be a direct communication between the tunnels and the surface about half a click from here. Allura, Lance, can you guys confirm?"

"We're looking at the same data you are, Pidge, considering how much clearer the scans you're getting are," Lance replied. Keith bit his tongue about cutting back on the attitude as he continued, "Nothing new on the Qirillian front either."

"Is there enough space for us to get into the base with the Lions?"

"Keith, is it so important to go inside?" The concern in Allura's voice prompted him to turn on the split screen.

It was impossible to tell if she were looking at him or Pidge, but it was Pidge who replied, "I think we should be okay if we stay in the Lions. There isn't enough residual ardillium to hurt us. We'd be in more danger from Eris' cold, methane and space junk. It looks like they took the reactor out through a fairly wide passage and left it open. We may be able to access almost every large area of the base through it."

"And the smaller areas?" Keith could see the entrance to the tunnels just ahead. "Can we search on foot?"

"I doubt we'll need to. Any ardillium weapon would have to be pretty big, given the containment apparatus you'd need to make sure you didn't blow yourself up by mistake before you could deliver it."

"What about any surprises Wade left?" Lance asked over the comms.

Keith was already guiding Black toward the bottom of the deep tunnel, causing the images from Arus on his screen to flicker. "Whoever took the ardillium didn't seem to have a problem."

"Considering they knew where to get it, they may have had some inside information about any defenses," Pidge suggested, "though I'm not picking anything up yet. Keith, you should be near the bottom of the shaft. Do you see anything?"

He set Black down on an empty metal platform and squinted into the darkness of the mouth of the one tunnel branching off the shaft at this level. "Nothing."

_Something is not right here._

"Oh, so you're talking to me again?" Keith muttered. Black had been stubbornly silent during the trip to Eris. "You picking anything up?"

_Nothing specific. But I do not think we are alone here._

"Wanna take a look further down?" After Black's agreeable growl, Keith was about to give the all clear to Pidge when pinpricks of red light began to appear somewhere in the tunnel. "What is…" The lights were suddenly getting a lot larger and closer. The first shots hit Black in a sudden barrage. "Shit! Pidge, up and out!"

"Keith, what's shooting at…"

"The do…clos…face!" Allura was shouting, but it was impossible to make out her words as her image flickered on the screen. "…et ou…fa…" She was completely cut off in a final burst of static just as the automated flying drones became visible.

There was precious little room to maneuver in the shaft, but Keith was doing his best as he tried to cover their retreat toward the surface. Green was already approaching the exit, which was…not there. Keith swore under his breath, swinging Black around to face their attackers head on. "Pidge, can we blast through that door?"

"This entire facility was designed to mask any signs of ardillium, resulting in a combination of alloys that…"

"No time for science lessons, Pidge." Keith hit a drone at point blank range, sending it tumbling back down the shaft. Hopefully, it had taken out at least a few of the other drones he'd seen headed for them on its way down. "Can we blast through or not?"

"It looks like there's a large hangar one level down to the northeast. I suggest we try heading that way."

"A simple no would have been fine." He quickly scanned the shaft and found the escape route Pidge had mentioned. "Right. Let's lay down some fire and clear a path. Now!" The sound of Black and Green's roars in the confined space was deafening even from inside the cockpit. Keith made sure Pidge was on his way before following. After a short trip through a tight hallway, they emerged into a wide open space, flashing past several abandoned shuttlecraft and pieces of heavy machinery as they dodged fire from the pursuing drones. "Pidge, do you see a way out?"

"There's nothing! Everything is shut tight and…wait, maybe…" Pidge suddenly headed for an open space beside a derelict crane. "Keith, land and shut down your systems!"

He scored a direct hit on another drone, but the fire didn't lighten at all. "Are you insane?"

"They may leave us alone if they don't think we're a threat."

"May?"

"We need time to find a way out of here and we can't do that with these drones shooting at us!" Green was already on the ground, going dark. "Keith, just…they're not shooting at me anymore."

"You better be back online in a hurry if this doesn't work," Keith grumbled to Black as he set his Lion down beside Green.

* * *

><p>Lance was having trouble keeping his hands to himself. Every time Allura bent over, he had to fight the urge to grab her ass. He didn't like the feeling, especially as they had yet to reestablish contact with Keith and Pidge, who were under attack a very long way from backup. Normal Lance was focused on tactics and escape routes and scrambling for the Lions; Bonding Lance could barely focus on anything unrelated to sex. This needed to end very, very soon.<p>

In spite of his attempts to stop himself, he stepped behind Allura and wrapped his arms around her. "We should get Hunk, Vince and Larmina to the Lions."

"They're under attack now, Lance!" She was leaning into him, pulling her hair off her neck to give him access. "Could the GA get anyone there faster than we can?"

"They aren't far from Earth." He pressed his lips to the side of her neck, allowing his tongue a small taste of her skin. "We can get someone to them while the Lions are en route."

"I hope nothing is…" she trailed off as she guided his hands to her breasts. _Oh, Lance…_

_Allura, I want you so bad right now. But we have to…_ He jerked away from her in shock. "What are we doing?"

She looked equally horrified. "It was like…I can't…Lance, we need to…" Her bedroom eyes sudden came on full force. _Take me now._

_Here?_ He was already shedding his jacket and unzipping his flight suit. _Anywhere, beautiful. Everywhere._

_Now! _He moved to unclasp her Voltcom, but she shouted, "No, stop! We have to get the others to…Keith and Pidge."

Lance leaned down to speak into his own Voltcom rather than take his hand off Allura. "Hunk! Control Room with the cadets, right away!" He disconnected before Hunk could reply. Allura was just too damn tempting.

He wasn't sure how much time or totally inappropriate contact had passed when they were interrupted, not by Hunk and the cadets but by Dr. Lunnen, who rushed excitedly into the Control Room. "There are my favorite test subjects! I must say, I'm surprised to see you up and about. Most people describe the final day of bonding as pretty darn intense, like, not able to leave the bedroom intense."

Lance tugged Allura's flightsuit back over her shoulders. "Did you say final day?"

"Based on your brainscans, you've recently entered the final stage of bonding! You should be stabilized in your bond sometime tomorrow." She looked at them curiously. "Why _are_ you here?"

Allura pushed Lance's uncontrollable roving hands off her. "We're trying to monitor a mission. Keith and Pidge are in danger."

"And you normally view that as a good time to make out?"

"Of course not, but…oh, crap." Lance abruptly understood. "This is a bonding thing, isn't it?"

"Like I said, final stage!" Dr. Lunnen clapped her hands together. "You must be so excited! And not just in the…" She waggled her fingers and laughed somewhat maniacally.

Allura was speaking into his chest, as she had just wrapped herself around him, "Why didn't you warn us about this ahead of time?"

"I thought…"

Hunk suddenly burst into the room, followed by Vince and Larmina. "What's happening?"

Lance did his best to get it all out in one breath because if he inhaled he'd be breathing in the scent of Allura's hair and lose it all over again, "Keith and Pidge are under attack and trapped on Eris and you need to go help them and call Earth on the way because the GA should have ships nearby to assist faster than…" he breathed in and completely lost his train of thought. _Need you right now._

"Uhhhh…" Hunk wasn't moving yet, as Lance could see in his peripheral vision before he stopped caring. Allura was in his arms and that was all that mattered.

Dr. Lunnen was talking from somewhere in the distance, "Last stage of bonding. They should really be somewhere private. Maybe there's someone else who can, um, handle things here while you three…"

Allura pulled away from him for a moment, "Get Coran. We…go! Keith and Pidge…"

The rest of the action was a complete blur. Lance's brain was a delicious blank as he lost himself in Allura until two of the castle guards manhandled him out of the Control Room while two others half-carried her behind him. All he could think about was getting to her, fighting the guards all the way to their destination, which turned out to be Allura's suite. The doors hadn't closed before they had shut out everything in the universe but each other.


	38. Chapter 38

Pidge tried not to feel smug as the drones disappeared in the direction of the main shaft. He'd had a feeling that once the threat was gone, they would return to their charging stations, but it was tough to have much confidence in a theory like that while something was shooting at you. It was nice to be both smart and lucky. Well, as long as his luck was holding out… He turned on Green's sensor array, one hand hovering over the button to deactivate it as he began to run scans of the deeper levels of the base. The drones didn't appear to react, continuing their descent with no indication that they were picking up his scans. "Interesting. They don't seem to perceive the scanners as a threat, just movement."

_I will map the area._ Green sounded quieter than usual, as if she were taking the potentially volatile situation into account. _Sensors will deactivate automatically if the drones begin to react._

"Great, thanks." Pidge raised his Voltcom and said, "Keith, it looks like the drones are retreating. Sensor sweeps aren't provoking a response."

Keith's voice sounded loud in the cockpit, "Why are you whispering?"

"I wasn't…"

_You were._

"The drones are leaving us alone, that's the important thing," Pidge replied at normal volume. "I think I should be able to map the area and find us a way out, if there's one in the area."

"What about ardillium weapons?"

"I'm not seeing any evidence that there's enough ardillium left here to…"

"I meant evidence that Wade was developing the weapons." Keith sounded annoyed. "Can you scan for that from here?"

"I can try, but this base is huge."

_Alpha is scanning deeper levels. I will focus on exits and we will combine our data._

Pidge ran a finger down the screen where the scans were displayed to clear a smudge and murmured, "Thanks, girl."

"Black and I are scanning the bottom of the shaft where the reactor must have been." Pidge smiled and didn't share that he already knew it and could see the raw data as Black worked in concert with Green. "We need to find a way past those drones."

"Uh-huh." His eyes flicked rapidly over the developing map of the base. "I'll work on that as soon as I've found an escape route."

"Won't they be back as soon as we restart our systems?"

"When they drew back they went all the way to the bottom of the shaft. If I can find something close, we may be able to get out faster than they can get back to us."

Keith sighed loudly. "How many are there?"

"I…I have no way of knowing. If they were all here, I'd say between thirty and forty are left, but we don't know if there are more down there or other defenses on deeper levels."

"Black and I will go take a look." Black was lifting off the dusty hangar floor before Pidge could protest. "Keep looking for an exit. We'll go handle the drones."

"Keith I really don't think…"

_Alpha will take care of him. We will do the hard work._

Pidge had to smile at Green's assessment of the situation as Black disappeared down the hall they'd used to access the hangar. Confident that they would find an escape route, he focused on the map she was creating. If Alpha…_Black_ needed support, he would let Green know. It didn't hurt to keep track of the drones in the meantime. Pidge turned his full attention back to the scans.

* * *

><p>"'Preciate it, Cap." Hunk disconnected from his contact at the Galaxy Alliance in order to focus on coaxing some extra speed out of Yellow. "Go on, buddy. Punch it. I know we're usually slow and steady, but we gotta set a good example for the cadets on this one. We're running lead here."<p>

Yellow gave a drawn-out harrumph, but said nothing.

"We only called in the GA as backup because they're so much closer to where Keith and Pidge are apparently trapped. Or I think that's what Allura said. Be glad you didn't see that. Not that it's a bad thing, just that it's something that should maybe be kept private. I'll be glad when this bonding thing is over and things are back to normal. Or mostly normal."

Yellow didn't even acknowledge he was listening this time.

Hunk wasn't ready to give up yet. "Yup, Red and Blue are gonna have a big adjustment, I bet, when Lance and Allura get back to flyin' 'em. I offered to babysit, but it doesn't sound like they're gonna need me just yet. Still, sounds like it's gonna happen. Has it been weird before when Lion pilots have, uh, bonded?"

When Hunk started envisioning little green-eyed Lance-like toddlers piloting Lions, Yellow finally sullenly muttered, _How should I know?_

"I just figured, y'know, since you're a Lion…"

_It's never happened before. Pilots have always bonded with their Lions and sometimes Pilots have been bonded with others, but pilots have never bonded with each other._ Yellow gave a long-suffering exhalation._ Red and Blue won't shut up about it. Mostly Red, but Blue doesn't usually talk this much. _

"Ohh, so that's why you're so grumpy. I thought it was 'cause I had to call in the reserves to check on Green and Black." Hunk relaxed a little. "Shoulda known you wouldn't take it personal. Is the thing with Red and Blue makin' it weird for the rest of you?"

_It'd bug me less if I weren't stuck with just them right now. They don't talk to the cubs, so there's nothing to distract them. This is a long trip to spend with them complaining. _

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that, buddy. So what are Red and Blue sayin'?"

_When they aren't whining about not having their pilots, they're arguing over where they'll mate first._

"Whoa, Red and Blue have to get it on now that Lance and Allura are together? Weird rule."

_No, their pilots. Red started with bragging about how his pilot would bring Blue's pilot to his den and Blue started arguing that her pilot would prefer her den and now they won't stop with it. I don't know why anyone would want two people having sex in their head._

"Is that a trick question?" Hunk scratched behind his ear. "Oh, you mean actually _in_ your head. Because you're a Lion and that's where people would… I thought you meant, like, in your imagination. That's…uh…"

_That's what?_

"Nothin'." Even if he'd had a date lately, Hunk would never have considered bringing a ladyfriend to Yellow's cockpit for anything other than showing her how cool his Lion was. Of course, the one time he _had_ done it, she'd seemed kind of bored. He briefly wondered how Carlin was doing and whether he should call her, even though he hadn't seen her since going back to Earth after Voltron was outlawed, before he was distracted by the more pressing question of how would anyone even go about getting…intimate in a Lion's cockpit. The pilot's seat barely reclined and the second seat didn't at all. The floor was hard and uncomfortable, so that was out. It really seemed more like a recipe for awkwardness and muscle cramps than anything else. He cocked his head and looked over his shoulder to try and determine if he was missing something.

_Don't think too hard about it._

Hunk shrugged and gave into Yellow's logic. "You give good advice, pal."


	39. Chapter 39

Keith was ready to activate Black's weapons systems at any moment as he carefully descended down the main shaft of the base. Now that he knew what to expect, there was no reason to be surprised by any of the traps Wade had left – flying drones, laser-equipped robots – it was all so predictable really.

_Then why weren't you ready?_

Keith clenched his jaw. _Why weren't you?_

Black's reply reverberated through his bones, _I cannot be prepared if my pilot is not._

"I'm ready now," Keith hissed. After the surprises he'd handled in the past few days, some drones were nothing. _And I could have used a little warning about the drones._

_You knew about them when I did._

"Hmph." Keith turned his attention back to the scanners, as if that weren't something Black was watching just as closely. He ignored the smoldering wreckage of several drones beneath them as the drones that had ceased their retreat returned to offensive positions. He primed weapons as they reached the deepest level of the shaft. "Ready?"

Black let loose with a barrage that would have terrified the most resilient Drule platoon. If only robots responded the same way as sentient beings, retreating instead of continuously advancing. It just made them easier to take down. Keith fired again, targeting anything that moved with no guilt. This was the most satisfying thing he'd done in days. The path ahead of him was clearing, slowly but surely, even if it was getting somewhat clogged with flaming bits of former drones. He continued advancing as he fired, getting his first glimpses of what the drones were guarding. It looked like the power plant of the base, with all cables and wires running toward a big empty space.

_Ardillium was here._

"You think?" No longer under attack, Keith felt his annoyance returning. Black's footsteps crunched over the disabled drones as he walked further into the room, which had a surprisingly high ceiling for being underground. "What's up there? Looks like an opening."

_Green has not mapped this far down yet._

He punched his finger at the button for the comms harder than necessary. "Pidge, I'm in a big room on the bottom level. What can you tell me?"

There was no image on the vidscreen and Pidge's voice was distorted as he replied, "Probably the reactor room. You took out all the drones?"

"You think I'd be contacting you for suggestions on what I'm supposed to be looking for if I hadn't?"

"No, just…that was quick. I'm lifting off now to go investigate a potential escape route through a ventilation duct. It may not be big enough for a Lion to get through, but it's the only thing I'm seeing at the moment that may have free access to the surface."

"Pidge…" Keith wanted to argue, but he realized that it made perfect sense that they should be focusing on a way out before doing more investigating. There was no telling if there were other potential defenses from which they would need a quick escape. It certainly wasn't that being trapped gave him a good excuse to stay away from Arus for a little while longer; that would just be ridiculous. He sighed. "I'm coming back up to you. Once we know we've got an exit we can come back down to look around."

"I'll meet you in the main shaft. The duct starts a level down from the hangar."

"On my way." Keith allowed Black to tread further on the wreckage of drones as they made their way out of the reactor room, noticing that some of the glow they were emitting was not due to flames. He rechecked the sensors and saw nothing out of the ordinary. It was likely just an odd reflection from Black's lights. He felt better as he emerged into the main shaft and saw Green hovering above them.

The vidscreen suddenly sprang to life to reveal a grinning Pidge. "Looks like a lot of smashed up drones."

It was hard not to return the smile. "It probably looks more impressive when they're all in pieces. So where's this vent?"

"Due east, through what may be storage areas. It's hard to tell with all the shielding in this base to guard it from detection."

"Well, you've got the map. Take point."

"Tired of shooting?"

Keith took a final glance toward the bottom of the shaft, where nothing but smoldering flames moved. "Something like that." One of the many things that had been bothering him about the base struck him as he followed Green down the wide passageway. "Pidge, why are all the passages and rooms in this base so big?"

"They are unusually spacious, but it could be for easy transport of large objects or giving the drones room to move."

"Hm. Seems like a lot of effort. I mean, they had to blast this whole thing out of rock, right?"

"It's possible there was an existing cave network beneath the surface. It's something we can look into when we come back." Green stopped unexpectedly as they turned a corner. Pidge was almost bouncing in his seat. "This is a research laboratory! Oh, if those computers haven't been wiped completely clean, I could find out exactly what Wade was up to here!"

Although he appreciated the significance of the potential discovery, Keith found it harder to get excited about. He glanced around the space, eyes lighting on an odd outline in the dust. "Is it me, or does it look like something was removed from this room recently?" He was careful to move slowly to avoid disturbing the area further. "A crate or something?"

"No way to tell." Pidge was looking wistfully through his viewports rather than at the vidscreen, but still said, "We should probably get going."

"Is that it?" They spent the next ten minutes or so following a tight, winding passage that eventually emerged several kilometers from the entrance they had used to access the base, almost getting stuck several times along the way.

Black was not pleased with the route, growling angrily every time they scraped against a wall. Keith ignored him, concentrating on the growing light ahead of them. They set the Lions down under the rocky outcrop covering the entrance to the cave where the ventilation duct opened.

"Someone's here."

"Pidge, you're whispering again." Keith glanced at Black's scanners. "GA signature. You call Arus, see what's happening there." He switched from the Lions' frequency to an open channel. "This is Keith Kogane of the Voltron Force."

"Ah, Commander Kogane." A man whose salt and pepper hair gave him an air of distinction appeared on the vidscreen. "I'm Captain Carter of the Galaxy Alliance cruiser Arcturus. We received a message you may be in need of assistance here. Is there something we can do for you?"

"I think everything is under control. We had lost contact with the rest of the Voltron Force when the main entrance to the base we were investigating closed unexpectedly, but we were able to find an alternate exit."

"Base?" Carter raised a critical eyebrow. "I'm not aware of any base ever existing on Eris."

"It…" Keith realized he was opening up a huge can of worms by informing the GA of this base before the Voltron Force had a chance to look it over thoroughly, but he couldn't just pretend it wasn't there. Somebody had really jumped the gun informing the GA that he and Pidge were potentially in trouble. He swallowed the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat. "We've discovered an abandoned covert operation here that we suspect was run by former Sky Marshall Wade."

"Wade," Carter growled. "It never ends with that bastard."

"Not a fan, either, I take it?"

"I spend more time cleaning up his messes than I ever did… Well, what was he doing here?"

"We're not entirely sure yet. We just got a tip that there was a base here and decided to take a look."

"Find anything interesting?"

"Not yet." Keith could see Pidge looking at him questioningly, but ignored him. "We set off some kind of automated defense system when we went in, robot drones. I think most of them have been neutralized, but the main entrance is still shut tight."

"I could order a team here to open it up."

Pidge joined the conversation, "I don't think that will be necessary, Captain. I've just spoken to our colleagues and they're en route. Red Lion shouldn't have much trouble cutting through the door."

"Well, I could offer you some hospitality while you wait. You're welcome to come up to the Arcturus as my personal guests to stretch your legs and have a bite."

"We appreciate the offer, Captain, but there's no need to hang around. We can handle it."

"I don't have much choice now that you've told me there's a base built by the former Sky Marshall here. We have plenty of space in our shuttle bay for two Lions. You can tell us what you found before you were attacked so we'll be ready to go in with you."

Keith nodded in spite of his misgivings. "Okay. We're on our way to you."

"Just in time for dinner, Commander. I'll see you soon. Carter out."

Pidge was talking as soon as the Arcturus had disconnected, "Keith, we didn't tell them about the ardillium. How are we supposed to explain that?"

"Give me a second… He wants us to have dinner. Can you review scans while we're eating and 'find' the ardillium then?"

"You just want to lie to the GA?"

After a moment's consideration, Keith decided it was the best option. "We can't tell them how we found out about the ardillium. It would put Prince Ajax in danger. It has to look like we found it by chance while looking around the base."

"But once the GA figures out there was an ardillium reactor here they're taking their questions and going to go straight to the Qirillians."

"So? There's no reason for them to know we were involved." He tapped his fingers on Black's controls as they rose through the atmosphere. "Our recent visit could be a good reason for the GA to leave us out of it. If we convince them Arus is interested in doing business with the Qirillians, which would obviously be damaged by…"

"Keith, I'm really not comfortable with this. Can't we just tell the GA that the Qirillians may have an unregistered ardillium reactor?"

"Not if we want to stop them from…"

"Wade isn't in charge anymore, Keith. We can trust the GA now. They have the resources to pursue this. We need to focus on Doom and whatever Lotor and Maahox are planning to throw at us next. We need to be on Arus."

"I don't want to be anywhere near…" Keith caught himself just before going too far. He had to remind himself that it was a quirk in his brain chemistry that was telling him to murder Lance and take Allura for himself. He had a responsibility to Arus and Voltron. Of course, so did they, but that didn't stop them from handing their Lions over to cadets so they could… He intentionally bit his lip to bring himself back to reality. "Pidge…call Hunk and tell him what's going on. We'll let the GA handle the ardillium situation, but we won't let them know we knew about it in advance."


	40. Chapter 40

Vince felt ill at ease in Red's cockpit. He'd only flown the Lion solo once before and he had the distinct impression that Red liked him even less now than then – and then he had been flying to Planet Doom without permission. It was hot enough to make him sweat profusely, in spite of the fact he kept turning the air up, and the vidscreen over the controls was mostly non-functional. As Eris was still several hours away and there was now no rush due to Keith and Pidge's escape and the GA's intervention, Vince decided to do something crazy. Remembering something Hunk had said in the Control Room the other day, he tried speaking to Red, "So, Red. How's it going?"

Nothing.

"Crazy how Keith and Pidge were attacked by those drones on Eris, huh? Too bad they didn't get a chance to take a good look around. Would have been nice to know what Wade was working on that involved ardillium."

The hum of the engines was the only sound in the cockpit. It was entirely possible Hunk and Lance had been messing with him about the Lions. On the other hand, Allura had also been there and it wasn't like her to tease him.

He decided to give it one last try. "Hunk says you guys talk to your pilots. Lance said it too. I know I'm not your usual pilot, but…here I am, if you feel like saying something."

Although there was still no response, Vince had the impression that he was not talking to himself; rather, he was being aggressively ignored. His pride flared up for a moment. "Look, I know I'm not the guy you want in the pilot's seat, but Lance is coming back. Until then, you've got me unless you just want to mope in your volcano and let down Voltron. Could we maybe call a truce while you're waiting for him?"

Red gave a funny lurch, but didn't reply.

Vince was encouraged, so he tried one last time to get a rise out of Red. "I bet Blue isn't acting like such a baby about this whole thing. I bet Larmina's having a great conversation as you sulk."

The roar Red let loose rattled Vince's teeth. Hunk was suddenly on the vidscreen. "Vince, everything okay over there?"

"Everything's fine. I think Red's just eager for some action."

Hunk nodded slowly. "Tell him to save some energy for the bad guys. And not to interrupt me n' Yellow's road trip remix." He flashed a quick air guitar solo on the screen before signing off.

Vince wiped sweat off his brow, feeling like it was nice to win a small victory by forcing Red to acknowledge him, but a little air conditioning would be better. He sighed and said, "I wasn't trying to show you up. I mean, I'm not trying to take over here. I just want to be there for the team and the team is down two pilots while Lance and Allura are bonding. I know it can't be easy for you to go through that. I'm not in Lance's head and even I feel kinda uncomfortable around them. Public displays of affection are kinda a pet peeve of mine."

_Silence, cub._ Vince blinked, wondering if he'd gone completely insane, but the deep, growly voice in his head continued, _My pilot and his mate will be as affectionate as they please._

"Mate?" He had to laugh even if a somewhat angry Lion was talking to him in his head. "What, Lions don't just have girlfriends?"

Vince could tell Red was now very annoyed as the temperature in the cockpit rose to an almost unbearable level.

"Okay! I take it back. Guess I can't really complain when it's not my castle."

The heat abated, but only by a small increment. He wondered if Red ever got this surly with Lance at the controls. Similar mercurial temperaments were probably one of the reasons they'd bonded as a pilot-Lion pair in the first place. Vince far preferred Green's more even-keeled approach. If only you could crack a window in space…

* * *

><p>Daniel experimentally leaned back in his wheelchair, lifting the front wheels from the floor. "Check it out, doc! I'm already popping a wheelie!"<p>

"Considering what a good patient you've been with a fractured leg," Dr. Gorma frowned, but didn't make a move to stop him, "just imagine the fun we'll all have here if you break your neck."

"I'm not gonna…"

"Urinate without the aid of a catheter ever again, I know. Forgive me if I'm not bursting with jealousy."

Daniel carefully lowered the chair to the floor to avoid jarring the brace holding up his still-healing leg. "Why is it that you can heal cuts with magic goo but I'm stuck avoiding stairs for the next two weeks?"

"Be thankful you didn't lose your leg, young man. And depending on your progress, you may be able to switch to crutches in a few days."

As he wheeled himself out of the infirmary, he called over his shoulder, "Bet a bionic leg would be a lot cooler. Wouldn't be wheeling myself around like…like…how come I can't have a self-propelled wheelchair?" he concluded in a whine as the doors closed automatically in his face. There was no one around to give him any sympathy. Vince and Larmina were off having awesome solo Lion adventures while he was stuck in the castle. At least he could see what they were up to, now.

Ten minutes and one lift up the stairs from two castle guards later, he rolled into the Control Room. "Hi, Coran."

"Daniel! How good to see you up and about." Coran made room at the console where he was sitting for Daniel to join him. "Come to check on your compatriots?"

"Um…yes?" He nearly ran his outstretched leg through one of the lower consoles. "Are Vince and Larmina doing anything exciting? Did they rescue Keith? Have they formed Voltron yet?"

Coran chuckled. "Keith and Pidge had managed their own escape by the time the rest of the team arrived. At present, your friends are having a tour of the GA cruiser Arcturus while Yellow Lion works on creating a new entrance to the base. I believe it was decided that it was best to have a door that wouldn't close unexpectedly."

"I'd rather be digging a hole than be cooped up here. No offense, but I've been trapped in the infirmary for days. I'd take a tour of a museum just to get out for a while." He raised his chair in another, more tentative wheelie. "I could be cruising around in Red right now, saving the galaxy, picking up girls…" he suddenly realized that it was odd to see only Coran in the Control Room while the team was on a mission. "Speaking of which, where's Lance and Allura?"

"Not to be disturbed."

"Oooohhh."

"Please refrain from waggling your eyebrows in such a manner when referring to Princess Allura."

"Come on, Coran. Everyone knows what's going on. I mean, there's a special doctor here just to monitor them while they're _bonding_. They've been all about the X-rated romance for over a week."

Coran sighed. "Officially, Princess Allura has accepted Commander McClain's formal request to court her as her sole suitor. You would do well to remember that in the presence of anyone not directly involved in the everyday workings of the Castle of Lions. This has the potential to be a serious diplomatic liability if the extent of their relationship becomes too widely known too quickly."

"Why? I thought they loved each other."

"Diplomacy and love can be mutually exclusive, more often than not. You would be shocked how many offers of marriage the princess has received over the years from rulers of planets wanting to ally themselves with Arus."

"I might not," Daniel muttered under his breath. It was hard not to notice Allura in her skintight flightsuit. Not that he'd ever _seriously_ thought about…she wasn't really _that_ much older…but, after all, he was just a guy and hot girls were hard to ignore, especially when there were only two in the castle who weren't maids. One! Only one. And she was the princess, who didn't have a surprisingly attractive niece. Why did he have to get these thoughts in his head in front of Coran? In spite of himself, he asked, "Can Allura still be queen if she marries Lance?"

"_When_ she marries Lance," Coran corrected. "Their bonding means it is only a matter of time."

"So, will Lance be king?"

"Time will tell."

"Oh." Daniel shifted in his wheelchair. "I was just thinking that if Allura can marry a guy who isn't a royal then Larmina…"

"Larmina is a bit young to be considering marriage, don't you think?"

"Sure, but…I just meant, hypothetically. If Allura couldn't find a prince she liked, I doubt Larmina…"

"You doubt I what?" Larmina's face was suddenly on every holoscreen he looked at. He wondered if he would have been better off just staying in the infirmary with his leg in traction.

* * *

><p>Larmina's first happiness at seeing Daniel out of the infirmary was immediately superseded by annoyance that he was apparently sitting in the Control Room gossiping about her with Coran. She crossed her arms as she sat in Blue's pilot seat. "Well?"<p>

Daniel hemmed and hawed for a few moments before Coran gracefully stated, "Daniel was just telling me that he doubted you and Vince were having much fun touring the Arcturus."

"_I_ didn't. Vince, on the other hand, is still aboard, annoying the chief engineer. I just thought I'd check in and see if there was anything happening on Arus."

"Uh, nope. Nothing happening here. We're even more boring than Hunk digging a hole in the dirt. Speaking of which…"

"He's almost through to the main hangar Keith and Pidge found. Well, I guess we'll let you know if we find anything."

"Good luck with that." Daniel gave a single wave of his hand then disconnected the transmission.

"Great," Larmina huffed. "I love waiting around with nothing to do."

_You like the cub._

"Stop it." Larmina swatted at the air around her as if that would make Blue's voice in her head disappear. She hadn't even known Blue could talk until halfway to Eris when the Lion had, with no segue, started complaining about Red's attitude.

_You can't deny it._

"Why are you even talking to me? You said Lions usually only speak their own pilots. I'm just here for a little while, so don't feel like you have to chitchat."

_You remind me of my pilot. I miss her._

"It's been, like, a few days." She rolled her eyes. "It's not like Aunt Allura died. She'll be flying again once she and Lance have finished bonding. Wait, is that why you think I like Daniel? Because the last time Aunt Allura was with you she was all crazy about Lance?"

_Their love is strong._

"Eugh."

_They are beautiful. You will understand someday. Perhaps with the cub._

"Quit it." She looked at the sensors as they hovered several hundred meters over the surface of Eris, desperately wanting to find a distraction. "We should go down and see if Hunk needs any help."

_Yellow is not afraid to ask for assistance if needed. _

"Then maybe we can just sit quietly until the team needs us."

_You are not the quiet type. Or the patient type. You have flown with me enough for me to know that._

Larmina decided that ignoring Blue would be her best option at this point. Solo time piloting a Lion was not supposed to turn into a girly slumber party. Or what she assumed a slumber party was like based on a movie she'd watched with Daniel and Vince in the infirmary. Or watched part of, leaving the room in a huff when the words 'chick flick' had come up.

_The pride and their pilots respect you. The other cubs will grow into it. _

"Could you please call us cadets? We're not freaking…wait. Did you just say the team and the Lions respect me?"

_Of course. But Yellow has just broken through to the base._

For the first time that day, Larmina wanted to hear more from Blue, but the temptation to action was just too much. She sent the Lion into a dive toward the planet's surface, remembering her aunt's advice about firing the forward thrusters just in time. Blue settled on the rim of the hole Yellow had dug. "Hunk, what do you see?"

"Uhhh…wellll…"

Black threw up a cloud of icy dust as he landed heavily on Larmina's left. Keith's voice was tense over the comms. "What is it, Hunk?"

"Well…it's big. And kinda drone-like. I think I'm gonna call it a dronebot." Yellow sudden burst from the hole, trailed by an immense tower of flames. Hunk looked a little confused as he appeared in his customary corner on the team-mode vidscreen. "You and Pidge didn't leave a giant dronebot down there, did you?"

Larmina was blasting off the surface of Eris before any orders were issued. Trusting Blue to send the transmission, she cried out, "Vince!"

He appeared on the top right corner of her screen. "I'm headed to you guys now."

She looked down toward the planet's surface, where the hole was suddenly a lot bigger than it had been moments before. An eerie red glow was rising from it. She took her place in the Lion's formation just as Keith said, "Activate interlocks…"


	41. Chapter 41

Allura groaned as she woke. She judged the morning was well along from the quality of light in their bedroom. She didn't want to get out of bed yet, though not for the same reason she had for the past few mornings. Lance was on his back beside her, arm loosely curled over her shoulder, breathing softly. She focused on his mind and found him flying, soaring through the blackness of space in Red Lion. It was more than just flying, though; it was like being part of the Lion. Was this how he always felt behind the controls? Red was an extension of his body. She had flown with him before, of course, but she had assumed his easy, fluid movements had to do with experience rather than a deeper connection to his Lion than she had with Blue. It was hard not to feel a little jealous.

Pulling herself out of his dream, she opened her eyes again and tried to stretch. It turned out to be a big mistake. Every muscle in her body felt like it was on fire. What on Arus had they…oh, right. Even her throat felt raw from the almost continual screams of pleasure he had elicited from her over the course of…how long had they been in her…_their_ room? Thank the gods bonding was a once in a lifetime thing. Still, she couldn't help but smile in a totally contented way. She stopped trying to sit up and collapsed onto Lance's chest. His heartbeat was steady and strong when she positioned her ear over it.

His fingers twisted around a few locks of her hair some minutes later, just as she was beginning to fall back to sleep. _Lance, I love you, but if you touch me right now I will punch you so hard…_

_You're the one lying on me._

She couldn't argue with his logic, but it seemed like a lot of effort to roll off him. _I'm so sore. I don't know if I'll even be able to walk. _

_Drama queen. Well, princess. For the record, I don't think I…holy shit._ He shifted beneath her._ I'm not hard._

_Good._

_I can't remember the last time I woke up without morning wood._

_What are you talking about?_

He began stroking her hair. _Aw, did you think all those hard-ons were only about you? Some of them just mean I'm a healthy boy. Not that you didn't let me put them to good use. _

_We're not having sex for at least a week._

_Okay._

_Really?_

_I reserve the right to change my mind in a couple of days. _He continued to play with her hair, not making any of his customary moves. She relaxed further, spreading her hand out over his stomach. At some point during the night, she'd lost the bandages on her hands. The cuts across her palms, though still angry red and somewhat itchy, had closed, so she wasn't worried. She could have them checked later, assuming she could make it out of bed. Lifting her head slightly, she looked up at Lance's face. His eyes were closed, his features relaxed. The cut on his forehead appeared to have healed well. He looked so peaceful. She smiled and resumed her spot over his heart.

Just as she thought he had gone back to sleep, he was in her head again. _It's over. We're bonded._

She considered it for a moment. _We are. _

_Awesome._

In spite of her soreness, she gave him a brief squeeze where her arm was draped over his abdomen. _What do we do now?_

_Celebration sex?_

_NO._

_Worth asking. I don't think I could get it up right now. _He stretched the arm not around her over his head as he yawned. "We should get to the Control Room to see what happened with…"

The bed shifted abruptly as he jumped out of it, tossing her aside a little more roughly than she could handle at the moment. "Lance, that was…"

"Keith and Pidge! Before we get dragged here, we were…"

"What are you looking for?"

"My Voltcom!"

She propped herself up on her elbow only with an extreme effort. "I don't see any of our clothes."

He snapped his fingers. "Other room."

She briefly remembered knocking over the coffee table on their way to the sofa, clawing at each other's clothes until they had exposed just enough to… Then a woman screamed from the outer room of their suite as Lance rushed out of the bedroom without dressing. She heard him say, 'Thanks' before returning with a pile of folded clothing and both of their Voltcoms. "I found our stuff and I think I just traumatized one of your maids, but…" He snapped his Voltcom over his wrist and pressed the comms button as he sat on the bench at the end of the bed. "Keith, Pidge? You there?"

"Yeah, we're here."

"Keith! Good to hear your voice. You and Pidge are all right?"

"Fine, but we're a little busy. Talk to Coran." A hiss of static preceded the disconnection.

Lance frowned as he lowered his arm. "He's still pissed."

"He said they were busy." She edged toward him until she could enfold him in an embrace from behind. "Maybe they found something on Eris and he's just focused."

"Hmm." He gently disengaged her arms from around his neck. "I'm gonna jump in the shower really quick before I see what's up in the Control Room. You get some rest." She didn't need much encouragement to flop back into the pillows. It felt like she had only blinked when he was pecking her lips, wet hair dripping on her. "Hey, I drew you a bath if you're interested."

"Thank you." She grabbed his still unzipped flightsuit and pulled him down. Their kiss was lingering, tender, but without the promise of immediate sexual gratification. Oddly enough, it only made her want him more. Just not right now. Kissing was enough for the moment. He was suddenly lifting her bodily from their bed. _Lance!_

_You'll feel better after a bath. _

She snuggled against him as he carried her into the bathroom. Her hold tightened as he tried to lower her into the steaming bathwater. "Wait. What if…what if we still can't be apart?"

"Nice try, beautiful, but I know you feel it as much as I do. Bonding is now bonded." He kissed her as he leaned over and let go of her, jumping back to avoid the small splash. _Besides, I know where to find you if I start to get dizzy._ "Right now I've gotta get to the Control Room. And maybe find my jacket."

Allura pouted as he left with a final smirking grin, but settled comfortably into her warm bath, jets massaging her sore muscles. Resting her head on the cushion Lance had left on the rim of the tub, she closed her eyes and wondered if it was too early to start making wedding plans.

* * *

><p>Keith wasn't sure why he hadn't told Lance that there was no time to talk while Voltron was fighting an automated Wade-designed dronebot that seemed to be composed of pieces that he and Black had blasted not long before. If this thing could spontaneously reassemble, they were in serious trouble. The arm they had sliced off with the blazing sword wasn't moving, but that was no guarantee.<p>

Pidge seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Keith! I think it's being controlled by a central unit somewhere in the interior. If we take that out, we shouldn't have to worry about…watch out!"

Another swing prevented Voltron from losing an arm to match the dronebot. It stumbled in the hole it had emerged from, giving Keith a moment to think. The body was encased in a thick shield, weak points at the points where the limbs joined. The site where they'd lopped off the arm would be their best option. Magma pistols were the logical choice, but Keith wasn't sure if Vince was up for controlling Red center. "We need to concentrate on blasting through to it." He wouldn't have a second thought if Lance were the one aiming at the small target on the dronebot, but he hesitated. He attempted a few shots with Voltron's blasters, with several hitting the small opening. It wasn't enough. He exhaled, hard. "Form Red center!"

"What? Keith…" Vince's protests were drowned out by the mechanical sounds of the change.

"Vince, we need the magma pistols to get to the control module in that thing. Aim for the place where we cut off the arm."

"Um…form magma pistols?"

Through the nexus, Keith could feel Red's annoyance with Vince's lack of decisiveness, though the pistols were aimed and ready a moment later. Fortunately, Keith's barrage with the blasters had weakened the dronebot enough to make its movements sluggish. After a few tries, Vince scored several good hits. Pidge cried out over the comms, "You got it, Vince! The central unit is overloading!"

Voltron was jarred by the explosion moments later, but undamaged. "Nice job, team," Keith said, "especially you, Vince. Good shooting."

Before Vince could reply, Captain Carter was calling from the Arcturus. "Commander Kogane, that was very impressive. You may want to clear the area, however. Our sensors are picking up small amounts of ardillium. I have no idea what it's doing here, but that stuff is dangerous."

Keith bit the inside of his cheek. This was about to get awkward.

* * *

><p>Coran heard the voices of several women around the corner and paused.<p>

"Lucky!"

"Yeah, but I felt so stupid. I mean, I screamed, like I was scared. I was startled, sure, but I should have complimented him or something. He's got a _great_ body – all defined muscles and no scary hair in weird places."

"Okay, but you're not giving us the most important detail. What about…y'know…?"

"Well, it wasn't, well…he _was_ just coming out of the bedroom." A flurry of giggles filled the pause. "But it was still impressive. I can imagine what it's like when he's…"

"Good morning, ladies," Coran said as he rounded the corner of the hallway. The three maids immediately dispersed in different directions after curtseying to acknowledge him. He continued on his way to Princess Allura's quarters, adding another item to his list of things to discuss with her and Lance. Although King Alfor's unconditional approval of their relationship had made the whole thing much easier for Coran to swallow, it didn't mean he was looking forward to convincing them to keep it within the bounds of royal propriety. Not that he thought they would disagree, just that he anticipated it was going to be a losing battle to maintain the pretense of a formal courtship.

He nearly collided with Lance leaving the princess' quarters. "Good morning, Lance."

"Oh, hey, Coran."

"Where is Princess Allura?"

"She's taking a bath."

"Then am I correct in saying your bonding is complete?"

"Uh…yeah."

"In that case, please accompany me to the Control Room."

"Yeah, that's where I was headed. I talked to Keith for a few seconds about half an hour ago…"

"Voltron has destroyed the robot guarding the base, so there is no rush."

"Whoa. I thought Keith was just mad at me, but I actually feel a little better knowing there was a Voltron battle in progress when I commed him. Would have been nice if he'd mentioned that, but…"

Not wishing to get involved with the internal politics of the Voltron Force in addition to his current responsibilities, Coran interrupted, "I have taken the liberty of issuing the official proclamation regarding your relationship with Princess Allura. I feel that a few rules need to be established if anyone is to believe you are merely courting. First, when diplomatic guests are staying at the Castle of Lions, you must sleep in your own quarters."

"Does that rule apply to Allura too? Does she have to sleep in my quarters on those occasions?" Lance's grin faded after a moment of being stared at seriously. "I'm kidding. I know what you mean. Maintain the reputation."

"Indeed. Which brings me to the second rule – although you may accompany the princess as her official escort to off-world events, you must have separate quarters, which you will remain in during the duration of the trip."

"Even _I_ would have figured that one out. No fooling around when not on Arus."

"Which brings me to the final and most important rule – in the presence of outsiders, you must not behave as anything other than a respectful, even reserved suitor. I realize that your behavior over the past days has been an unavoidable result of the bonding process, which is the only reason it has not been questioned. From this point forward, however…"

"Keep it in the bedroom. Gotcha."

"Commander, this is serious."

"I know it's serious! I've never been as serious about anything as I am about Allura. Not even flying." Lance spun on his heel just before walking into the Control Room. "I love her, Coran, okay? I _love_ her. I won't do anything to compromise her or Arus and if that means I can't kiss her or hold her hand or whatever in public, I won't. Just…please don't treat me like I'm stupid. I know we've been over the top for the past week or so and that it wouldn't always be like that, but, no matter what happens, I'm gonna be the man that she needs." Coran jumped as Lance suddenly seized his arm. "Please, trust me that far, Coran."

"Fate has dictated that I do." He took a deep breath. "You have chosen each other. You have bonded. I need you to understand the importance of that."

"Nobody understands it better than I do." Lance's eyes twinkled for a moment before he turned and entered the Control Room. "Hey, there's my jacket!"

Coran shook his head. Being a royal advisor had been far less complicated under King Alfor.


	42. Chapter 42

For one of the few times in his life, Keith had absolutely no idea how to proceed. In spite of his intentions, he had never told the GA about the ardillium reactor that had recently been in the secret base built by the former Space Marshall on a dwarf planet very, very close to Earth. Now it looked pretty bad. He took a seat at the table in the conference room aboard the Arcturus beside Pidge, with Hunk, Vince and Larmina taking seats along the wall behind them. Captain Carter entered with several members of his crew. "We're expecting one more, but we can get started." He turned his chair to face Keith. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"We got a tip that there was an ardillium reactor on Eris, but we had no way of being sure. It seemed irresponsible to set off a panic…"

"A panic? As opposed to what's going to happen with the GA just learning that there's an unregulated ardillium reactor _somewhere_?"

"Is panic the new standard procedure?" Hunk muttered, drawing a choked laugh from Pidge.

Captain Carter slammed his fist on the table. "Something you find funny about this situation, Mr. Stoker?"

"No, sir. Just…had something caught in my throat." Pidge coughed for emphasis.

"To get back to this ardillium reactor…"

"According to our scans, it's been removed recently."

Carter waved his hand dismissively. "I'm more interested in why you didn't share these scans with the GA. You still haven't given a valid reason for that."

"Well, after what happened with Ikaria…" Pidge began, stopping when Keith kicked him under the table. This was about to get much worse.

"Ikaria? Where is that?"

Keith forced himself not to be defensive. "It was in the Faros sector."

"Was?"

He took a deep breath and bit the bullet. "Last week we picked up an anomalous signal and when we went to investigate, the reactor went critical. We got a tip that another reactor might be on Eris, so we came to check it out when our scans registered ardillium."

A new voice suddenly joined them from the door of the conference room, "Commander Kogane, do you mean to say that not only did you have information about the destruction of an unregistered, unregulated ardillium reactor, but that you had information that another one was here on Eris?"

Keith felt his mouth go dry. He recognized the cold, hard voice of the speaker, but he had hoped to put off any meeting as long as possible. Newly appointed Sky Marshall Hutchinson had been a tactics instructor at the Flight Academy when he, Lance and Sven had been cadets. Her dislike for Lance was legendary; it certainly would have prevented him from winning the job of head flight instructor had she still been teaching at the time. Keith had been called into her office to answer for Lance's antics enough times that he instinctively felt his spine go rigid before he turned. "Sky Marshall. I didn't realize you would be joining us."

"I hadn't planned to, but Captain Carter's transmission regarding ardillium on Eris sparked my interest."

"Of course. I just meant I didn't expect you in person."

"Don't flatter yourself, Commander Kogane. I happened to be passing on my way to…that's not important." She glanced around the room. "No McClain? I can't say I'm surprised, given the announcement from that Ambassador Coran earlier today. I can only assume it means he's gotten your princess pregnant."

"Nope."

The room fell silent, heads turning toward one of the seats along the wall behind Keith. He turned to face his teammate. "Um, Hunk?"

"What?" He reddened as the attention of the room continued to focus on him. "I offered to babysit in nine months and they said there won't be a baby to, uh, sit that soon. But they didn't come right out and say I can't babysit, so in a few years, ol' Uncle Hunk'll be ready. I mean, uh, if…that, uh…"

"Mmm hm." Hutchinson took the chair Captain Carter had recently occupied. "Perhaps if we could turn our attention away from idle gossip and back to the more important issue of the ardillium signature on Eris? How did you know to look there? The GA has never seen unexplained readings."

"We received a tip that there was a reactor somewhere in the Kuiper belt. We…"

"Took it upon yourselves to assume responsibility for looking into it, in spite of the fact that you are aware of the strict regulations placed on ardillium – yes. Was this a product of your Voltron hero-complex? Or was this a mission designed to obtain a previously unknown reactor for unauthorized use?"

Keith bristled. "I resent the implication that…"

"I hardly think it was implied; that was a direct accusation. Although if you prefer to make it personal, what I resent is your attitude that the GA is incapable of protecting even a garbage planet without the intervention of Voltron. Would you have bothered to inform us if you had found an ardillium reactor?"

"You'll have to excuse us for getting out of the habit of trusting the GA."

"You would do well to remember that Wade is no longer in control. I would much prefer a working relationship with the Voltron Force as it has proven its worth time and again, but if you continue to operate in a manner that compromises the GA, I won't hesitate to start placing restrictions."

"You have no right…"

"Then convince me otherwise. Tell me why you knew about ardillium here and didn't share that information with us."

Keith took a deep breath and began with their initial discovery of an ardillium signature on Ikaria.

* * *

><p>Lance sat back in his chair in the Control Room with his feet on the console, hands laced behind his head. Although his instinctive reaction to Hutchinson's voice had been to snap to attention, he'd gotten over it quickly. After all, she was aboard the Arcturus and he was safe on Arus, eavesdropping on the meeting over Vince's Voltcom. With the one-way link, he hadn't even given himself away with his outburst over her insult to his relationship with Allura. Or with the sound of him falling out of his chair when she had interrupted the meeting. Daniel had gotten a good laugh over that one.<p>

Now that the meeting had calmed down into a simple information exchange, Lance started to tune it out. After Keith's narrative, Hutchinson had declared the Voltron Force and Arus weren't going to suffer any consequences for keeping the secret of the ardillium reactors to themselves. The Qirillians, on the other hand, might be in some hot water.

As Lance continued to half-listen to the meeting, Daniel sped through a holographic obstacle course he'd set up across the Control Room floor. "Why did Keith have to make it sound like I'm permanently disabled after the Ikaria thing in front of the new Sky Marshall?"

"It's better if Hutchinson doesn't think you're relevant." He flashed back to his third day at the Flight Academy and his first tactics class. Even now, he could feel the biting injustice of being assigned a week of latrine for flirting, in spite of the fact that Cadet Franklin had been flirting back harder. Had they ended up going out? He briefly wondered what she'd say if she knew he was basically engaged to the ruler of a whole planet before remembering he was supposed to be warning Daniel about Hutchinson's temper; that first day of class had been the tip of the iceberg. "Believe me, you don't want to cross her."

"You know her?"

"Unfortunately. You think my punishments are rough, you should meet this lady. She nearly brought back corporal punishment while she was teaching at the Flight Academy. Can't tell you how many times she threatened me with whipping, though she never did manage to get my flight status revoked."

"Did you ever consider that maybe it was you, not her?"

"So, up and about with the snark back? Guess you are feeling better, Dan-Man."

"Dr. Gorma says I can be on crutches soon." He nearly tipped his wheelchair over as he took a corner a little too fast. "I think that means I'm getting my solo time in Red in the next few weeks, right?"

"Relax, I haven't forgotten. As soon as you're cleared to fly, you can have some time in the big chair."

"Good, I figured you might want to put it off since you haven't been able to fly and…"

"Hey, soon as he gets back, I'm getting my key from Vince and doing a couple of laps around the system." Lance flexed his fingers in anticipation of gripping Red's controls. If anything could put him in a great mood, that could. Well, that or…

"Allura won't mind?" Daniel continued his race around the holo-obstacles.

Lance grinned, remembering the last time he'd been in Red. In spite of his better instincts, he'd be seriously considering some of his Lion's suggestions. Not that he'd share something like that with Daniel. He went with the far more innocuous statement, "She'll probably be chasing me in Blue."

"Where is she, anyway? I thought you guys couldn't be apart at all?"

"Nah, we're good now. Bonding completed, no more…hey!" Lance swung his feet to the floor as Allura entered the Control Room. _Couldn't stay away from me, huh? I think somebody feels better after her bath._

He got the quirked brow and half-smirk he'd been hoping for. _I guess someone doesn't want the donut I brought him fresh from the kitchen._

"Donut?"

"Did you say donut?" Daniel pulled up directly between them. "That looks really good."

"Well, since you're in a wheelchair…"

"My donut!" Lance hadn't realized how hungry he was until Allura had appeared with delicious smelling pastry. He gave a frustrated whine.

"Relax." She produced a full plate of donuts from behind her back.

"I love you."

_Are you talking to me or the donuts?_

The first bite was melting deliciously in his mouth when he answered, _Um, both? _She reached out and brushed her thumb over his chin, then brought it to her mouth to lick the crumb off. He nearly forgot he was still holding most of a donut. _So, remember when I said I didn't want to have sex for a week? I changed my mind._

She shook her head with a mysterious smile and set the plate of donuts on the console. "So what's happening with the team?"

"All fine. They're currently on board a GA ship talking about why we didn't tell anyone about the ardillium. Keith's actually doing pretty well. Of course, Sky Marshall Hutchinson always liked him better than me, so…"

"The new Sky Marshall is there?"

"I think she's more eager to go after the Qirillians at the moment."

"But?"

"Who said but?"

"Lance…"

"Right. She, uh, wasn't too happy about the Voltron Force being involved with this ardillium thing without telling the GA. Much as it pains me to say it, I think we need to invite her to Arus to clear the air."

"All right. I'll let Coran know."

He blinked several times to convince himself he was awake. "Um…that's it?"

"I think it's a good idea. We need to reestablish positive relationships with the Galaxy Alliance."

"Yeah…well, small problem there. Hutchinson hates me. Has since the Academy."

"I cannot wait to hear this story."

Against his better judgment, he sat back down. "Pull up a chair." Daniel did so literally while Allura requested one from the holoconsole. "It all started my first week at the Flight Academy…"


	43. Chapter 43

Lance tried to ignore the high-pitched shouting and pulled a pillow over his head. Sure, he was a sixteen year old stud, but even he needed more than ten minutes of rest between rounds. And Kayla was usually a little less insistent. "Fifteen more minutes, woman. I'll be ready in fifteen more minutes."

"Lance, you have to get out!"

He groaned and fought off the hands trying to pull a shirt over his head as he sat up, nearly bumping his head on the top bunk. "What's the rush?"

"Bedchecks are in ten minutes!"

"So?" He glanced around the room, noting that it couldn't be all that close to curfew if Kayla's roommate Gabrielle hadn't returned to pester him about leaving. He lazily slipped into his t-shirt and stretched as he watched Kayla yanking pajamas on. "Relax. You just get to stay here and Keith or Sven'll cover for me with Archer. He doesn't give a shit if we're in our rooms or not."

"He may not, but we've got Hutchinson this week, so get your ass covered and out of my room!"

The threat of getting caught in the girls' dorms by Professor Hutchinson was enough to make him stand and accept the pair of pants his girlfriend handed him, but not quite enough to scare him into leaving just yet. "Damn, Kayla. Usually you let Gabs yell me out of bed."

"Too late. And how many times do I have to ask you not to call me 'Gabs'?"

He bowed gallantly to the girl who had just entered. "My apologies, Cadet Lee. If you'll allow me to finish dressing, I'll be on my merry way."

"You don't understand, Lance. Hutchinson is already here. She just reprimanded me for studying in Danielle and Maria's room, so I can only imagine what she's going to say when she finds _you_ here. Maybe you'll finally get that expulsion you've been working so hard for."

"Shit!" Kayla hissed, doing more harm than good in trying to help him into his uniform jacket. "Get in the closet."

"Huh?"

"Get in the damn closet, Lance!"

He resisted playfully as she shoved him. "Oh, come on. The worst she can give me is a write-up, which is basically a slap on the wrist. And you're graduating in a month. What's she gonna do to you?"

"I need a letter of recommendation from her to get into the larger vessel pilots' training program!"

"No idea why you want to fly one of those buckets when fighters are so much more fun!"

"Ssshh!" She slammed the closet doors so hard that one bounced back, giving him a crack from which to observe the room. She had just finished making the bed look presentable when a sharp knock sounded on the door. "Cadet Howard, present."

"Cadet Lee, present."

Heels clicked on the tiled floor of the room. "Good evening, ladies."

"Good evening, Professor Hutchinson," Kayla and Gabrielle chorused, causing Lance to bite his tongue with suppressed laughter. He could only imagine one of the male instructors' reactions to such a stupid ritual.

Hutchinson didn't seem to have a problem with it. "Cadet Lee, I believe I was a bit harsh with you. I understand that your final in advanced avionics is tomorrow. While I respect your dedication to your studies, please respect the regulations that you are to be in your own room fifteen minutes before checks in the future."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Best of luck on your exam tomorrow."

"Thank you, Ma'am."

"As for you, Cadet Howard. Not studying?"

"I finished advanced avionics last semester. I don't have any finals until next week."

"Of course." Heels clicked as Hutchinson paced. "Rumor has it you're seeing McClain."

"Yes, Ma'am. We've been dating for a few weeks."

"Word of advice – end it. You've got a bright future with the GA. He's only going to hold you back. Or worse."

"Worse?" Lance took a chance and peered through the open crack of the closet door. Kayla looked just as scared as her voice sounded. "I know he still has another year to go here at the Academy, but…"

"Stop by my office tomorrow regarding your letter of recommendation for the larger vessels program. Good night, ladies."

"Good night, Ma'am."

Lance stepped out of the closet as soon as he heard the door close. "Yow, I knew she didn't like me, but now she's cockblocking me too? Crazy old bag." To his surprise, Kayla's usually quick laugh didn't join his. In fact, she looked close to tears. "Uh, Kayla?" He tried a kiss, but her lips remained still. "I'll just, uh, be going then."

"Not the hall!" Gabrielle whispered harshly, dragging him by his arm toward the window. "I'm not getting in trouble for you. Use the emergency escape ladder."

He shook his head, but had to admit, it sounded like a fun escape. Planting a goodnight kiss on Kayla's cheek, he swung a leg out the window. "Night, ladies. Kayla, I'll message you."

She waved at him dismissively as he lowered himself onto the ledge below the window.

* * *

><p>"That was the least relevant story yet!"<p>

"I wasn't finished yet," Lance replied, running his finger through the powdered sugar on the now empty donut plate as he traced a heart. _I was young and stupid and didn't love any of them, if it makes you feel better. _"Besides, it's a pretty good demonstration of how Hutchinson was trying to screw me from every angle."

That only made Allura snippier. "You've been talking for over an hour, giving us a full rundown of all the rules you broke starting with your first year at the Flight Academy. And it seems like every single anecdote about why the new Sky Marshall hates you also involves a story about a girl you…you…at least the others weren't so graphic."

"Sorry. Didn't mean to make you jealous."

"I'm not jealous. I'm annoyed." There was nothing sexy in the narrowed eyes she directed at him this time.

"I think it makes it more interesting."

Lance jumped at the interruption. "Thank you, Daniel. See? If this were a class, he'd be sure to get an A because he's interested in the material."

"Although I'm also interested in why you're always yelling at me when you were about a hundred times worse than me, Vince and Larmina combined."

"Uh…"

Allura rolled her eyes. "You may as well continue your story about the reasons Hutchinson hates you, provided you leave out any more 'romantic' subplots."

"Deal. So, as I was saying, I was climbing out of the window of Kayla's room…"

"Lance!"

"What? The next part involves no further adventures with no-pants Lance, okay? May I continue?"

"Fine."

"Right, so I'm climbing down the side of the building and I make it back to my dorm, no problem. Or so I think, because…"

* * *

><p>Lance looked out over the grounds of the Flight Academy. It would be a wonderful, romantic moonlit view were he not hanging from the end of a fire escape ladder that didn't go all the way to the ground for some reason. He tried stomping on the lowest rung, but the extension that would take him the last fifteen or so feet refused to budge. Great. He was hanging off the side of a building and it was past curfew so he couldn't even comm Keith and Sven for help. Or he could, but they would laugh at him. Then Keith would tell him he shouldn't have been in the girls' dorms so late and Sven would offer to rescue him first thing in the morning before PT.<p>

It wasn't really that far of a drop.

Lowering himself past the last rung of the ladder to minimize the distance, he took a deep breath and let go. The impact with the ground was enough to knock the wind out of him. He took a moment to flex all of his joints. Okay, nothing broken. Pushing himself to his knees, he looked around the empty campus. The lights from a patrol were approaching from his left, so he took off running toward the row of hedges near the entrance of the gym. If only they hadn't found and sealed off his secret paths through the steam tunnels; of course, they wouldn't have if he hadn't used them to trap the band last year, so it was really his own fault. Damn.

He waited until the voices of the two MPs receded and sprinted across the quad. Five minutes later, he was pressed against the wall of the boys' dorm. His backdoor code was still working, so at least he had that. He chucked to himself as he made his way up the stairs, safe at last. So what if Hutchinson hated him? Even if he and Kayla did break up, she was graduating in a month anyway. He would have ended it then. No reason to be tied to a girl who wasn't even around. And, hey, if breaking up with him got her the spot she wanted in the larger vessels program, more power to her. He wouldn't feel bad. Desiree had been giving him more attention than she had in the past two and a half years over the past few weeks, and he'd had his eye on her from day one. Something Lance McClain would never be was lonely.

He was congratulating himself on his new plans when he stopped short in his own hallway. "Oh, uh, hi, Sergeant Archer. Am I late?"

"Save it, McClain. You know I'm usually willing to cut you a break, but I'm answering to Captain Hutchinson tonight."

"Fine," Lance huffed. "Write me up. Almost the end of the semester, anyway, then it's clean slate going into next year."

"Sorry, kid, but it's not that easy. The rampaging beast wants you in her office."

"Of course she does. Bright and early, I'm guessing? Maybe before sunrise?"

'Try right now."

"Uh…now?" Lance did his best to straighten out his uniform as he followed Archer out of the building and across the grounds on nearly the same path he'd just taken clandestinely. She couldn't have known where he'd been or she would have yanked him out of Kayla's closet, but that meant that there was probably something else that had happened that he was now going to get blamed for. And he'd been so good this week! Or good about not getting caught, anyway. It wasn't like taking a few extra hours in the trainers was a bad thing for a future pilot, even if he hadn't technically gotten permission from Commander Kirkwood for the time. Or for use of the head flight instructor's personal ship.

He had just worked out what, in his head, sounded like a plausible story of hilarious misunderstandings about what, exactly, Kirkwood had told him he could and could not do when Archer gave him a squeeze on the shoulder. "Good luck, kid."

Lance took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock on Hutchinson's door, but it whooshed open before he could. She was sitting behind her desk when he did his best to saunter in. "Well, well, well. I had asked Sergeant Archer to inform me if any cadets were out past curfew and I can't say I'm surprised that your name came right up."

He shrugged one shoulder. "A guy can't go out for a little fresh air? What, did I come back from spring break and land in the brig instead of the Academy?"

"The brig would be too good for you, Cadet McClain." She suddenly slapped her open palm against the desk. "Stand at attention! What do you think this is, a social call?"

"No, Ma'am!" He snapped his body into the familiar position, spine rigid. "I can only assume I am here to learn my penalty for my unauthorized absence…"

"Don't try to make this about curfew, McClain. You and I both know why you're really here."

He tried to remember what he'd come up with regarding Kirkwood and the trainers, but his mouth was too dry. He went the best route. "I don't, Ma'am."

"Don't play dumb, McClain, though I'd be willing to believe that to a point where you're concerned. Last night at 0200 there was an unauthorized access of the simulator facility. The perpetrators escaped before they could be apprehended, but it's not hard to imagine a suspect list."

Lance felt something inside him unclench. There was no way they could pin this on him. He hadn't done anything that bush league since first year. "Why would I want to break into the simulators after hours? What am I, a first year?"

"Bearing in mind that no one was punished for the series of unauthorized midnight sim flights two years ago…"

"I'm not confessing to anything. I'm just saying that if I was gonna take an unauthorized flight, it'd be in a real ship, not a playtime one. And, with respect to your opinion, Ma'am, I'm not stupid enough to take out one of the trainers without permission."

"You think you're so great, don't you, McClain?" She rose from her seat, holding a suspiciously blaster-shaped object. "I only hope I'm there the day you discover that you are just an insignificant amoeba, crushed by an indifferent universe. In the meantime…"

* * *

><p>"…and right when she's about to really give it to me, the alarm goes off because some dumbass freshmen are in the simulators. I think she was more pissed that she couldn't punish me for it than she was at them for doing it."<p>

Allura stood and shut off her holochair. "So the moral of these stories is that the new Sky Marshall disliked you at the Flight Academy because you were a disrespectful, misbehaved, out of control cadet?"

"Really?" Lance uncrossed his legs and sat forward. "I thought I came off as more sympathetic than that."

"Hardly. I need to go speak to Coran."

"About having Hutchinson visit?"

She waved over her shoulder without looking back. He tried to follow, but was blocked by a grinning cadet in a wheelchair. "So when can I hear about the stuff you pulled during your fourth year?"

"Later, Dan-Man." He glanced after Allura's angrily retreating form. "Yeah, definitely later. I think right now I need to go convince her bonding wasn't a bad idea."

"Good luck."

"Hey, if you've learned anything over the past ninety minutes, it should be that good luck is my middle name." He dropped all pretense of false bravado as he chased Allura into the hallway.


	44. Chapter 44

"Allura!"

She ignored Lance, increasing her pace away from the Control Room. _We can be apart for more than ten minutes now. Remember?_

_You're mad. We should, um, talk about it._

_Oh, you mean the way you wanted to talk about it when I kissed Keith?_ She was just angry enough to bring it up without feeling guilty about it. _Guess I'll see you in a few days. _

_That's not the same thing._

_It certainly isn't. This is about you bragging about all the sex you had with other women before me. _She spun on the ball of her foot and he almost collided with her. "How do you think that makes me feel?"

"I…" He closed his eyes for a moment and she could almost feel him sampling her mood. Footsteps suddenly echoed in the corridor and he pulled her through the nearest door into a linen closet, where he immediately started to ramble, "I'm sorry. I screwed up. I know I'm not the perfect guy, especially not for…I shouldn't have…look, it was always my intention to tell you at least something more about me before we…but then everything happened so fast and suddenly we've bonded and I never… never should have been talking like that. Especially not in front of Daniel. It's a stupid male pride thing and it was dumb and cruel and thoughtless. I wasn't trying to be a jerk but…it's kinda my natural state of being."

Even though she realized he was baiting her into arguing the point, she still said, "Is not."

"And that's one of the things I love about you." He smiled, rubbing his nose against hers. "You look at me and you see the little good bits hidden behind the swagger and the boasting and general assholishness. It makes me want to not be an asshole. For you." He held her face between his hands. "I can't change who I used to be, but I can be better."

She took a deep breath. No matter how much it bothered her, she realized there was no point in prolonging this argument. She had always known who he was, even if not in such detail. They had made the choice to be together. "Lance, we're going to be together for the rest of our lives. I'm not so naïve to think you had long-standing dreams about the perfect person just waiting to be with you, but that doesn't mean I want to hear about your other women. I've only been with you and I'm only ever going to be with you. And I know it isn't fair to expect that you wouldn't have more experience than me, but you have to understand that I never had the opportunity…that I never…please don't throw it in my face like that ever again. That's all I'm asking."

"You shouldn't have had to ask something like that. I'm so sorry." She could feel his genuine regret combined with frustration with himself as he hung his head. Her fingertips settled on the back of his hands, which remained on either side of her face. _For a guy with so much so-called experience with women, I think I'm best at knowing the best ways of pushing them away when they get too close._

She pressed soft kisses along his jawline, working back toward his mouth, keeping her eyes on him the entire time as she waited for him to look up. _And if I get too close?_

_Never happen. _He finally met her gaze, eyes serious and sincere. _Hell, you're in my head and it's still not close enough._

She relaxed as his arms encircled her. _I'm sorry I brought up Keith._

_I kinda deserved it._ They held each other for a further few moments before he said out loud,"So, is this closet where we're gonna have all our fights?"

"What are you…?" She looked around and remembered that they'd ended up here several days ago when Lance had almost convinced himself that he had tricked her into bonding. "Better in here than where everyone can hear us, I suppose. You know how castle gossip can be."

"This door locks from the inside."

"No."

He flashed his most winning smile at her. "What?"

"You may have changed your mind about when we'll be having sex next, but I have not."

_Could I at least try convincing you otherwise?_

_Well…_ Though she wasn't convinced after ten minutes, she enjoyed his kisses and caresses until they were interrupted by a maid.

"Princess! I'm sorry, I'll come back later."

_You said you locked the door. _Allura slipped out of Lance's arms, shaking her head. "No, we shouldn't be in here. Sorry to have surprised you."

"Not at all, Princess. Although, if I may be so bold, you may want to stay in the closet for a while." The maid, Mesela, picked up a pile of towels. "Nanny just arrived."

* * *

><p>Keith walked through the corridors of the Arcturus behind the rest of the team, not really caring where they were headed. The GA had officially taken over the investigation of the base on Eris and related any ardillium reactors Wade may have been hiding, with the understanding that the Voltron Force would immediately inform them of any developments. Hutchinson had been satisfied with the transfer of data and left nearly half an hour before. The only snag had been his refusal to name their source for the tip on the location of the second reactor. The Qirillians were going to be in enough trouble as it was; the least he could do was save Prince Ajax from being attacked on both sides. Once the GA had dealt with King Ablen, Keith could tell them about Prince Ajax's help if necessary. He was going to play it close to the vest at the moment.<p>

"What? I'm hungry!"

Keith looked up and realized that Hunk had led them to the ship's galley. He stepped into the argument the team was about to start. "We should take the opportunity for a good meal while we're here. It's a long trip back to Arus."

"Good meal? Has he ever eaten GA food?" he heard Vince mutter to Larmina.

An active vessel's meals were better than what they served at the Academy, even if not by much, though no one would ever realize it was anything less than gourmet to watch Hunk eat. He was already carrying a loaded tray to a large table, gushing about the sauce they used on the peas. Keith found it harder to get excited about the unidentified meat the cook slopped onto his tray. "Thanks."

He made his way to the table where the team was now debating the positives and negatives of the meal. Hunk was holding his own on the merits of vague gravies. Keith ate quietly, not really tasting his food. With no further concerns about ardillium, they could get back to business as usual. Unfortunately, business as usual had changed with Lance and Allura becoming…Lance and Allura. He suddenly didn't have much of an appetite. Pushing his tray away, he stood.

"See, Hunk? Not even Keith can stomach this stuff!" Larmina declared, following his lead and pushing her tray away. "Can we leave yet?"

Keith nodded tersely, drawing smiles from everyone but Hunk, who seemed to be attempted to set a new speed record for clearing one's plate.

Back in Black after thanking Captain Carter for his hospitality, Keith felt a little better about the situation. The GA was really better equipped to handle ardillium, anyway. If the Qirillians were developing ardillium weapons, the GA would find them and handle them. There was nothing to worry about. The Voltron Force had only stumbled onto the Wade-ardillium connection by accident. By the time he got back to Black's den, he might even have himself convinced this was the last they'd be hearing about it.

He was also going to have to tell Lance that Hutchinson remembered him. And not in a good way. Black rumbled with a low laugh. Keith had to agree. Maybe everything would be back to normal when he got back to Arus.


	45. Chapter 45

Lance started hyperventilating almost immediately. "How…why…now?"

"She probably saw Coran's official announcement that you're courting me and wants to know why we didn't tell her ourselves." Even Allura's soft lips weren't a sufficient distraction.

"You mean why you didn't tell her yourself. Because the second she sees me, she's gonna yank off both of my ears in a fit of Nanny-rage before I can explain myself. And even if I could defend myself, that would just make it worse in her eyes."

"Come on, Mesela said she was in the kitchens." He resisted as she tried to pull him out of the suddenly very comfortable closet. There were sheets and towels. There was even a sink. Throw in some room service and he could live quite comfortably in here, at least until he needed the bathroom. Allura stopped trying to pull him for a moment. "We just have to tell her we're in love and that we've bonded." Her encouraging smile morphed into the frown she gave Larmina when she wasn't acting ladylike. "You'll have to talk to her at some point."

"Some point, sure, but not now." Lance poked his head out the closet door to make sure the coast was clear. "Okay, so we'll lock ourselves in your room. Wait, that's the opposite of hiding because that's the first place she'll look. My room? No, that's worse. Damn it, things were good and now they're about to get all Nannified." He realized he was trailing Allura down the hallway toward the kitchens. How had that happened? Her firm grip on his hand prevented him from retreating to the safety of the linen closet. Shit. "How about I go fight Lotor?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll do it. I'll get in a ship, fly to Doom and fight Lotor right now."

"You're picking Lotor over Nanny?"

"Uh…" He considered for a moment. "Yes."

_Please just do this?_ Allura fluttered her eyelashes as she looked at him pleadingly. _For me?_

"Well…" A lingering kiss sealed it. _Okay. For you. _

Nanny was audible from the top of the stairs leading down to the kitchens. "No more stalling! I have come to see Princess and I will…"

"Nanny!" Allura finally let go of his hand when they were already in the kitchen and it was too late to flee. "What a wonderful surprise!"

"Ah, there is Princess! Say hello to Princess, Haakon." Lance forced himself not to think the Svenling's chubby arm waving nervously was adorable. If Sven could father a kid that cute, he and Allura were going to have the most gorgeous babies in the history of the universe and he really shouldn't be thinking those thoughts with Nanny _right there_. She was hugging Allura with one arm while holding Haakon in the other. Her eyes, however, were shooting daggers in his direction. After a moment, she let go of Allura and declared, "We will have tea!"

The head cook waited for a nod from Allura before saying, "Of course, I'll have it sent up to…"

"What is wrong with here?" Nanny sat down at a low table along the kitchen wall, arranging Haakon in her lap. "Princess is not too proud to have tea with her old Nanny here in the kitchen like she used to!"

"Oh, Nanny, they're busy preparing a meal right now. I would hate to be in the way."

"We sit at a table, out of the way. Now, sit."

Lance pulled out a chair for Allura before sitting beside her. She engaged Nanny in small talk about the baby while they waited for the tea. Once it was delivered and served, however, Nanny dropped all pretenses of a casual visit. "Now, what is this foolishness about," she shot a murderous glance in his direction, "_him_."

"Well, Lance and I have decided…"

"Both of you? More like he has decided and then tricked you with no Nanny here to protect you! Plenty of handsome, eligible princes to choose from if you are ready to find a husband." She aggressively bounced the baby on her knee, not touching the tea. "No need to dally about with a common ruffian. We will sort this out and send a new announcement. We will plan a ball for the handsome single princes to come so you can choose one."

"Nanny, there's no need for that. Lance and I are very happy with our relationship." Lance, already trying desperately not to let his teacup clatter against his saucer, nearly jumped when she settled her hand on his thigh and squeezed reassuringly. "There's no need for me to look for anyone else. I love Lance."

"Silly Princess! This is because you are so thin. How can you make decisions when you must be starving? We must get you a good meal to get you thinking clearly."

Nanny was standing, looking around for someone to hand the baby to when Allura said, "We've already bonded."

"No, no, no. Too many old stories for you, I think." She eventually handed Haakon to the head cook who was trying to set a plate of pastry on the table. "Bonding is something you will do with your husband, gods willing. That one isn't even Arusian," she said with a dismissive jut of her chin in his direction. She suddenly turned her attention to the baby, saying, "Princess could not possibly bond with the blockheaded pilot, now could she?"

Allura stood and leaned forward, saying in a disturbingly sexy baby-talk voice, "Princess is very happy with her choice. Someday Princess is going to have a little one like you with her husband Lance."

"Princess should not joke like that, but you will feel better after a good meal. Shame on all of you for not making sure Princess is well-fed!"

The kitchen had emptied out considerably since Nanny had made it clear she would be staying, but the remaining staff ignored her, focusing on their tasks. Lance kind of wished he had some potatoes to peel or something. Nanny had begun to bustle around the kitchen, followed by Allura, still trying to convince her that their relationship was serious. When Nanny arrived at the first stove and started sampling from the bubbling pots, making comments about how to fix the dishes as she did, the head cook had had enough and passed the baby to Lance so she could protect her meal.

After an awkward moment of holding him at arms' length, Lance pulled Haakon in. He settled against his chest with a happy burbling sound. "Well. Um, hi. I'm Lance. I already know your name, so you don't have to say anything. I, um, know your dad. We went to the Flight Academy together." Haakon was watching him intently, so he continued, "He's a good guy, your dad. I miss him. But I hope the accent isn't genetic."

A saliva bubble appeared on Haakon's mouth and expanded until it popped. Lance joined the baby in a giggle.

"Not bad, Svenling. When you're older, I'll show you how to do that with gum. Nanny loves to clean gum out of carpets, yes she does." He caught himself before his voice got any sappier. "Right, well, gum. You're gonna need a few more teeth for that, so don't worry about it just yet." He offered his finger, which Haakon grabbed at eagerly. "Strong grip you got there. That'll come in handy when you're flying. Don't know if Nanny would want me to give you less when you get old enough, but…"

"HAAKON!"

Lance stumbled backward into the table, knocking over the teacups but being careful not to jar the baby, who was looking toward Nanny, charging across the kitchen, with about the same amount of alarm Lance felt.

"Nanny, he's _fine_," Allura protested, adding, _He is fine, right?_

_Yeah, he's…_

"How can he be fine?" Nanny yanked Haakon from his arms. "I wouldn't trust this one with a hopper melon!" The baby started to cry. "Oh, baby, you are safe now. No more nasty bad man holding you, just nice Nanny here."

"Seriously? He was happy and laughing 'til you just snatched him." He slipped his arm around Allura's waist as she stepped into him. He felt a sense of calm flowing from her. "And there's no need to find some stranger for Allura, even if he does have some impressive title. I love her. I'm bonded with her. I'm going to be with her and marry her and…and…" He swept Allura into an embrace and kissed her deeply. Her arms wrapped around his neck as the kiss continued. _I love you and I'm never letting anyone tell me I can't._

_I knew she wouldn't like our being together, but I had no idea she'd be so hostile. _Her mouth was sweet from the tea. _We should probably stop now._

_Right. _He slowly pulled back with a smile. He hadn't managed to stop smiling when he turned to look at Nanny.

She was staring at them in open mouthed horror. Apparently everyone in the kitchen had stopped to watch the scene, so the only sound was the occasional bubbling from the stoves. The silence dragged on to the point where even Lance wanted Nanny to say something when she exploded, "CORAN!"

Haakon immediately added his scream to Nanny's. Both continued bawling as Nanny carried him out of the kitchens and directly toward Coran's office.

Lance couldn't stop himself thinking as he and Allura jogged to catch up after a moment of shocked immobility, _We could be hiding in your room right now._

_Which would just make it more awkward when she burst in._

_Are you suggesting we could have been…_

_NO. Can't you think about something else?_

_Nope. I'm a guy and there's no baseball on Arus. _

Although Coran's door was closed when they arrived, the conversation going on inside was perfectly audible, with Coran raising his voice to be heard over the wailing Haakon and Nanny screeching because she was Nanny. "…sibility, Coran! How could you let this happen?"

"I did not _let_ anything happen! Princess Allura and Commander McClain are adults who have made the choice to…"

"No! I will not listen to these lies! He has tricked her somehow! Princess and that hooligan! Kissing in front of the staff! Scandalous!"

"Nanny, they have bonded, they are happy and I will not be doing anything to change what has…"

"You believe this bonding nonsense!"

"You can speak to the neurologist from the University who has been studying them for the past week if you do not believe it, but I can assure you that it is true. Their bond is genuine, as is the love the sparked it. If you cannot accept this, Nanny…well, I will leave that for Princess Allura to decide."

Lance felt Allura gasp at his side. _What does he mean, for me to decide?_

_Well, you know if, um, I don't know. If you don't want her around or whatever._

She looked at him, distressed. _I couldn't throw Nanny out of the castle. I'm sure she just needs time to…_

He stepped away from the door, pulling her with him, just in time. Nanny stalked into the hallway with the still-crying Haakon pressed against her in spite of his active flailing. She didn't acknowledge Lance, but turned to Allura. "Perhaps we will talk and you will convince me that _he_ is a better man than I remember."

_She's never gonna think I'm anything but a punk._

_She is trying to give you a chance._

_Yeah, sure. _He gave Allura a sad smile before saying, "Well, I'll leave you to it. I should probably see if there's anything the team needs from me. I'll be in the Control Room."

She gave his hand a final squeeze before he walked away. _Love you._

_You too._ He felt a little better as he headed toward the Control Room. He hadn't even realized their fingers had been intertwined.


	46. Chapter 46

Apologies for the long wait. I've been sick.

* * *

><p>As she trailed Nanny down the hall, Allura had to remind herself that she was a grown woman, perfectly capable of making rational, responsible decisions regarding how she wanted to live her own life. She didn't need permission or approval beyond her own. She was in control. She was also slightly chilly. Nanny was marching through the gardens and for a moment Allura thought they were going to the fountain where she and Lance had first kissed, first started bonding. She immediately felt defensive, wanting to protect the spot, but Nanny stopped short and sat on a bench near the topiaries.<p>

"See the funny tree, Haakon? What is that? Is that a chorple?"

Haakon seemed to have cried himself out during Nanny's shouting spree and was now making only occasional half-hearted whimpering sounds. Allura held out her hands, looking for something to distract her from her frustration with Nanny's attitude. "May I?"

"Of course, Princess." Nanny was gentle as she transferred the baby to Allura's arms, adjusting his head so it was properly supported. "Ah, I could imagine you sitting here with a little prince. Or I could if not for…him." She looked angrily in the direction of the castle.

Allura adjusted her position to keep him out of the wind. "Nanny, I think it's a bit cold to sit in the gardens right now."

"Nonsense. Fresh air is good. You need more. Fresh air and good food will set Princess right."

"There's nothing wrong with me!"

"Nothing wrong!" She tapped Haakon on the nose and spoke to him, "Convinced she has bonded with that…that ruffian and nothing is wrong!"

Allura did her best to keep her tone calm for the baby's sake. "I know you don't like him, but Lance is a good man."

"Hrumph."

"I love him. And he loves me. I wish you would just give him a chance."

"Chance? I see what he does with a chance!" She rose from the bench and started pacing the gravel path. "I thought I could safely retire when those boys left. Princess' virtue was safe, Nanny's job complete." She began wringing her hands as she paced. "I should have returned when they did. Less than a year without Nanny to remind them of their place and he thinks he can…"

"Better Lance than most of the princes I've met." She didn't want to imagine what some of those slimeballs would have tried given the time and access Lance had always had to her. "Being a prince doesn't automatically make a man a good match."

"What is wrong with handsome princes? A princess _should_ make a match with a handsome prince!"

"Looks aren't everything." After a moment's consideration she added, "And even you can't deny that Lance is at least as handsome as any prince I've met."

The statement drew another annoyed grunt from Nanny as she paced.

Allura felt as if she were gaining at least a little bit of ground. "I know it shocked you when Lance kissed me in the kitchens, but if I'd asked him to stop, he would have. He doesn't cross lines I don't want him to."

This seemed to calm Nanny further. "Then he has not…aah. You have not truly bonded, then."

"Of course we have."

"Not if you have not _crossed lines_ with him."

"We…" Allura absolutely did not want to talk with Nanny about her suddenly existent and very active sex life. She turned her focus to rocking Haakon in her arms. His drooping eyelids were losing their battle to stay open. She could feel Nanny watching her, but she kept her eyes on the baby, humming an old song.

"Ah, your mother's lullaby." Nanny sat beside her again. After a prolonged silence, she sighed. "Princess must understand that my duty was to protect her. No mother, then no father and so young! Nanny couldn't find a prince for you in time, so you have found your own. Not a prince, but…" she threw her hands up. "I should have done better for you. I should not have retired until I saw you married."

"You will see me married."

"To…him."

"Yes, to Lance."

"Lance," Nanny amended, seemingly making an effort not to say his name with too much derision. She sighed again. "No bond with no love. If you think you have bonded, I must believe your love is real and true."

"Nanny, it's not our imaginations. We have bonded."

"You speak in your minds?"

"Yes."

Nanny frowned. "Ask him to bring crushed fruit for Haakon."

"What?"

"Crushed fruit and a soft spoon from the kitchens. When he wakes he will be hungry."

Allura suddenly realized that it was a test. She closed her eyes and concentrated. _Lance?_

His voice felt very close. _What's up? Nanny give up?_

_She wants us to prove we've bonded._

_How?_

_Bring some crushed fruit and a soft spoon to the bench in the gardens near the topiaries._

_She wants me to bring her a snack?_

_It's for Haakon._

_Well, if it's for the Svenling, I'll do it._

_It's to show Nanny that we're serious, that we're bonded, that..._

_Rowr. Talk defiant to me, baby. I'll be there in a few._

_Thank you. _She opened her eyes. "He's on his way."

"Of course he is," Nanny replied with a nod that may have been condescending. The conversation veered into safe topics, including the expectation of rain based on the clouds moving in from the west and Haakon's latest attempts at speech. Allura was about to call out to Lance again when Nanny gave a strangled cry.

"Nanny, is everything all right?"

"No!" she hissed, then clapped a hand over her mouth, using the other to point over Allura's shoulder.

She turned and smiled as she saw Lance coming up the path. _Took you long enough._

He gave her a half-grin. _I thought the topiaries were those big flower things. You should have said you were by the animal trees._

Unaware that they were having their own conversation, Nanny proclaimed, "No one can know before the wedding!"

Although she was tempted to comment on the fruit, Allura confirmed, "That Lance and I have bonded?"

"Yes!" she yelped. "Princess not a virgin on her wedding night! Never in my life could I have imagined!"

Lance had reached them by now. "Somebody ordered crushed fruit?"

Nanny nodded and mutely accepted the bowl and spoon.

"Right. Kinda cold out here, isn't it?" Lance shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over Allura's shoulders.

_Smooth._

_Guilty as charged. But you are shivering and holding a baby. _

"You are doing it now!"

"Um…" Lance started.

Nanny went on, "Talking with your minds!"

"Oh. That. Sorry." He slipped his hand under Allura's elbow, helping her stand. "Uh, I think it might rain, if you want to come inside. Nanny?"

The first few drops hit just as they were leaving the gardens. It had become a deluge by the time they were safely inside the castle. Allura carefully handed Haakon back to Nanny, doing her best not to wake him. "I hope you'll be staying for dinner, and we'll have a room set up with a crib for you to stay the night. We can't have you traveling with the baby in this storm."

Nanny stepped toward Lance as if she hadn't heard Allura speak at all. "You are very lucky to have bonded with Princess and even luckier that bonding is so respected and significant. But Nanny will be _watching you_." She spun and walked away without another word.

When Allura turned to hand Lance his jacket back, he was shaking his head. "I coulda been fighting Lotor on Doom right now."

_I thought it went better than expected._ She ran her hands over his smooth cheeks; she'd enjoyed the scent of his aftershave lingering in the bathroom during her bath earlier. _She still sees me as a little girl, just like she still sees you as an arrogant, cocky…_

_Hey!_

_Well, it's not like she's going to change her mind about you in just a few hours. _

_She left the fruit out in the rain._

Allura cocked her head. _She didn't throw it in your face._

_Small favors. _Lance smirked before leaning in for a kiss.

Allura had the feeling it would have gone on indefinitely if not for a loud throat-clearing moments later. She took a step away from Lance before turning, saying, "Honestly, Nanny, we're not about to…oh." Rina the anti-Red woman from the university was staring at them. Allura eventually had to prompt, "Is there something you need?"

"What? Oh, Dr .Tag sent me to find Commander McClain. The armor is…well, you should probably come see it."

Lance scoffed. "It's a suit of armor. What could it possibly _do_?"

"Glow."

"Glow?"

"It's glowing and too hot to touch." Rina started to walk away, giving Lance and Allura no choice but to follow if they wanted to know more. "We were trying to get a sample so we could test the alloys and it just started to glow red. Dr. Tag thought that since you found it when the sensors couldn't, maybe you could do something about it."

"Such as?"

"How should I know? You're the Red Lion guy."

Allura took Lance's hand as they walked. _Why's this chick hate me so much?_

She considered for a moment before smiling. _It's the universe seeking balance._

_Huh?_

_I love you so much, a bunch of women have to be here to dislike you to balance it out._

_Clever. Wanna ditch the armor people and…_

_Let's see why they need us first._


	47. Chapter 47

The team studying the armor had been set up in a room down a hallway from the main hangar. Lance knew it would have been faster to cut through the Control Room, but he didn't want to give this Rina the satisfaction for some reason; she'd probably just come up with some reason why Red's chute was…more reckless, or something. Instead, he trailed behind her, holding Allura's hand as they conducted a silent conversation about what had happened with Nanny in the garden. Currently, he was quirking an eyebrow at her. She shrugged, bumping him with her shoulder as she did so. _It's just the way she is._

_Yeah, but it's weird. Like, is it a respect thing or does she actually think your first name is Princess?_ He nearly bumped into Rina, who had stopped abruptly. "Uh, excuse me."

"What's going on here?"

Lance glanced around, but nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be happening. "What are you…"

"I mean, I figured _something_ was going on, but I can't believe the Princess would…" She stopped talking as she turned and her eyes went wide, but she recovered quickly. "Princess! I didn't realize you were coming with us."

Lance bit his lip to keep himself from smiling as Allura gave a curt nod. "I'm curious about why the armor is apparently glowing. Now, what is it that you can't believe I would do?"

"I…I don't think it's my place." Rina was now blushing furiously, redder than Red. "Forgive me, Princess."

"No, really. What were you about to say to Lance that you can't say to me?"

Several conflicting emotions flashed across Rina's face before she blurted out, "I can't believe you would pick him! With all the kings and princes and even the Black Lion, and you pick _him_!"

_Is she related to Nanny?_

Lance thought he'd made a good point, but Allura ignored him, nodding slowly at Rina. "And why are you so concerned about my relationship with Lance?"

"Well, I…that bonding doctor is here because of it, isn't she? And I just saw you…in the hallway. So you've bonded with him, which means that this has been going on for a long time and you're in all likelihood going to marry him and…as a citizen of Arus, I feel I have the right to know!"

"You feel that you have the right to know intimate details about my personal life just because you live on the planet?" Lance had to admire Allura's calm tone, especially given how unpleasant Rina had been since arriving. If it were up to him, he would have invited her to leave several days ago in some of the most colorful language he'd picked up during pilots' training. Allura shot him a look that told him to stop imagining that scene and continued, "Because we did release a proclamation just a few days ago announcing our official courtship. Exactly what other information do you feel you're entitled to?"

It seemed to rattle Rina. "Well…nothing. Not like that. I just think that…if he's going to be our King…"

"If it is Lance's destiny to be king, it will be decided during the Ceremony of King's Sword. As a student of our history, I'm sure you're familiar with that. Until that time, I'm hopeful the people of Arus will trust my judgment." Lance willed himself not to stick his tongue out at Rina, thereby undoing all the confidence Allura had placed in him. "If we've covered all your concerns, I believe we were on our way to see the Storos armor?"

"Yes. We…they're right down the hall."

"Aren't you coming?"

"Why bother?"

"I can assure you that this conversation will remain private, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Doesn't matter at this point. There's no way the grant committee is going to support my Black Lion work now. Blue Lion has obviously been the best funded research lately, but now, with the armor being found and _him_…I'm sorry, Commander McClain courting you, everyone is going to want to see work on Red."

Lance was no longer able to hold his tongue. "Seriously? You hate my guts because some stuffed shirts aren't going to give you money to read books about your favorite Lion?"

Rina shot him an icy glare. "You've obviously never been involved in academia."

"Obviously. I'm really more of an action guy. More fun to fly the Lion than read about it."

"Enough." Allura's hand settled on his chest as she stepped between them. "Why don't we all go see the armor now, okay?"

He leaned into her touch just slightly. _I'll play nice if she will._

_You'll play nice no matter what._

Rina had already walked away. Lance stole a kiss from Allura before continuing down the hall. _I hope she isn't indicative of what the majority of Arusians are thinking about us._

_I highly doubt it. And even if they are…wow._

He had to agree with her as they stood in the doorway of the researchers' room. Dr. Tag, the team leader, was pacing nervously while the two students who didn't hate Lance (as far as he knew) chewed their nails as they fiddled with a computer. The armor was laid out on a table in an anatomical figure. As he stared at it, he decided that 'glowing' was a pretty generous way to describe how it looked. The radiance was more heat than light. The metal appeared molten, but the Red Lion decorations hadn't melted. If he weren't used to seeing lava close up, it would make him very nervous. "That's…huh."

Dr. Tag looked as if he might cry. "It started a little over an hour ago. We were just removing a small sample from the breastplate to test and the entire set began to glow. It was just a little sample, micrometers!"

"So you set off some kind of defensive thing." Lance circled the table. "We just have to figure out how to shut it off."

"But the pieces aren't even connected to each other! Nothing about this makes sense! We haven't been able to get an exact reading, but the temperature is several hundred degrees. I don't understand why the metal isn't melting."

Lance frowned as he leaned closer to the armor. "Shouldn't the room be hotter?"

"What?"

"Well, there's a big hot chunk of metal that's a couple hundred degrees sitting here, but it's the same temperature in here that it is in the rest of the castle." He reached toward the armor, but pulled his hand back when he felt a burning sensation start in his fingertips a few inches from contact with the metal. "That's so not normal."

"Has anything about this been normal?" Rina muttered. In spite of his dislike, Lance was inclined to agree. He folded his arms and looked down at Red leaping across the breastplate, blazing against the darker background. There had to be some simple solution.

One of the people by the computer suddenly shouted, "Commander! Your hands!"

He held up his hands, surrounded by the Voltcom's red shielding. "I got an idea."

The air seemed to get sucked out of the room as he reached for the gauntlet – _his_ gauntlet – the one that had started this whole thing. _Hot hands don't fail me now._

_Please be careful._

He glanced at Allura with what he hoped was a reassuring grin. _When am I not careful?_

_Not the right time for that kind of humor._

He took a deep breath and grazed the metal with his fingertips. There was no heat, no burn, only cool metal. He wrapped his hand around the gauntlet and picked it up. "Well…I feel fine."

Dr. Tag approached him cautiously. "That…that's not possible."

Feeling more confident, Lance deactivated his Voltcom. The gauntlet didn't burn his suddenly unprotected hand. "Maybe it has something to do with me? I mean, I'm the Red Lion and that helped me find it in the pool."

"It's possible." Dr. Tag held his hand a few inches from it. "I still feel heat coming off it."

"It's just some illusion!" Rina pushed past Dr. Tag and moved to grab the gauntlet from Lance's hand.

"No, wait!" he cried, but she had already snatched it. For a moment, he thought everything would be okay. Then the look of triumph twisted into an agonized grimace. Her scream filled the room in a way Lance wouldn't have imagined possible and he almost missed catching her as she collapsed to the floor. "Whoa, there." He tugged the gauntlet from her hand, peeling her fingers back carefully. He tried to focus on the goal and not the…injury. He was very glad it had been a while since he'd last eaten. Rina whimpered into his chest, so he murmured, "It's gonna be fine. You're okay. I just hope you weren't left handed."

"Lance, you…"

"Careful!" He pulled the gauntlet away from Allura. Tossing it back on the table above him, he hooked one arm under Rina's legs and picked her up as he stood. "We need to get her to Gorma right away."

She nodded. "I'll let him know we're coming."

He took off running toward the infirmary, not waiting to see who was following. Rina continued her anguished crying, even though he was doing his best not to jar her injured hand. He didn't get a good look at it, nor did he want one. He had seen enough burns to know what to expect and, more importantly, to know that he didn't want to see it. A gurney was waiting at the entrance of the infirmary when he arrived and he was glad to be relieved of his burden.

He took a seat in the rear waiting room as Gorma directed his team toward a sterile area. He wasn't sure how much time had passed when Allura sat beside him. She slipped an arm around him and rested her head on his shoulder but remained silent. He eventually said, "Where's the other researchers?"

"In the outer waiting room."

"We should let them sit back here. It's comfier."

He felt her lips press against the angle of his jaw. _I wanted to make sure you were all right._

_Why wouldn't I be?_

_It wasn't your fault._

He sighed. _I should have pulled it away. I shouldn't have let her get it._

_She grabbed it from you. There was nothing you could do._

_It hurt her really bad. _He suddenly jerked away from Allura. "Is it secure? Did they lock it up?"

"The room is locked and I have two castle guards watching the door."

"Oh. Good." He relaxed back into the sofa. "Good."

They were silent for a long time before she asked, "Do you really think you were able to touch the armor because you're the Red Lion pilot?"

"I don't know." He stood and offered his hand to pull her to her feet. "I'll talk to Red about it when the team gets back. Where are they, anyway?"


	48. Chapter 48

Keith could no longer ignore the decreasing power levels. Black was willing to continue following the ardillium trail Pidge had, against all reason, detected, but there was simply no way they could go further. There was really no reason for them to be tracing the path of the reactor from Eris; the GA was handling it, as he had conceded they should. Sky Marshall Hutchinson was handling it personally. She would be visiting King Ablen within the next few days, saving them the diplomatic headaches of a confrontation and armed with all the data the Voltron Force had collected on Ikaria and Eris. Arus would suffer no repercussions, not that the Qirillians could do anything significant. Keith almost laughed as he remembered Prince Ajax, so proud of his sort-of flying. Poor guy was going to get caught up in the middle of all this.

Keith wondered if there were anything they could do, but his eyes drifted down to his readouts again. He sighed and activated his comms. "Pidge, how is Green on power?"

"Low. I was about to let you know we're approaching our point of no return. If we don't turn around now…well, we've only made it this far because we got a boost when we formed Voltron." Keith didn't look at the monitor, because he could hear the frown in Pidge's voice. "I'm starting to lose the ardillium signature, anyway. It's going to be completely dissipated through the solar flares from the…"

"Got it." Keith didn't want to know the exact reasons they couldn't follow the trail any longer. He had reached the point where knowing it was enough. "All right, team. We're all low on power. Let's head home." He cut off the comms to the other four Lions and executed an unnecessarily showy barrel roll to change his heading back to Arus.

_A wise choice._

He shook his head. "You were enjoying the hunt."

_True,_ Black growled, _but I understand that sometimes prey must be…toyed with. Now it is time to tend to ourselves._

"You're not just talking about needing a recharge, are you?"

_Red and Blue are unsettled. They need their pilots. The pride needs all of you. We are always stronger united._

He scoffed, "Oh, Lance and Allura are united, all right."

_Make your peace with them. It is the only way._

"Maybe you should just focus on flying. We need to conserve power to get back to Arus without a tow."

Black fell silent, but Keith could feel the tension through his controls. It was even harder to swallow because he knew Black was completely right. He had missed his chance with Allura, if he'd even had one. He had always assumed he would have to save her from marrying a strange prince she didn't love, presenting her with an alternative in a spontaneous romantic gesture. It seemed so stupid now that he thought about it. He should have just _told_ her. Why had he thought time wasn't a factor, that he could just let things work out naturally?

_They did._

Keith didn't try to argue the point. "Why did I wait?"

_You knew it wasn't right._

"Not right? Then why do I still love her? Why does this hurt so much?"

_You will feel better with time._

"How cliché."

Black didn't respond. In fact, his Lion was uncommunicative even through reentry into Arus' atmosphere. Keith swung into the Control Room and took a deep breath. As good as it felt to be standing on Arus again, he had to acknowledge Lance sitting with his feet up on a console.

* * *

><p>Lance felt like he had been waiting for hours as he stood from his holoseat. Keith was the first to emerge from the Lions' chutes. He took a deep breath and made an effort to grin. "Ah, our fearless leader. Hey. Heard you guys were inbound and thought I'd, uh...hey."<p>

Keith's reply was simple. "Lance."

"You, um…" he paused as he thought about activating his Voltcom, "you're not gonna stab me?"

There was a longer pause than Lance would have liked, but Keith didn't charge him or draw a weapon. He eventually said, "Not right now."

"Oh. That's…good."

He watched warily as Keith surveyed the Control Room. "Allura isn't here?"

"She's around somewhere. We're bonded, so we can be apart now."

"Good. That's good. Can you fly?"

"I'm about to find out." He turned toward Red's chute, where Vince was just emerging. "Yo, Vince. Key me."

"With pleasure. I'm sticking with Green from now on." Vince tossed the key halfway across the Control Room. Lance caught it without too much concern for Vince's sweaty brow or eagerness to give up his solo time in a Lion. "Where's Daniel?"

"Off terrorizing someone with his wheelchair, I'm sure. See you guys!" Lance almost missed catching the bar in his eagerness to dive down the chute. He knew he probably should have stayed to talk further with Keith, but the rush of air as he dropped into his transport pod erased the thought.

Red didn't even wait for him to sit down before rumbling his greeting, followed by, _Well?_

"Well, what?" Lance dropped into his seat, readjusting it to his usual position.

_Where is your mate?_

He concentrated for a moment, his mind filling with a vision of the kitchens. He could almost taste the prime rib. "She's in the kitchens, getting a sneak preview of dinner. Probably smoothing things over with the staff after Nanny's visit, too."

_She will come here soon?_

"Nanny?" Lance at to laugh at Red's hairball-like choking response. "Yeah, I wouldn't put you through that. But Allura's not coming here. You really need to get your mind out of the gutter."

_You will mate with her here to complete your bonding._

"Uh, no. We managed that on our own."

Red huffed angrily.

"Don't get all offended. It's not exactly subtle that you want to watch us having sex. Maybe that's cool with Lions, but people find that a little weird."

_It is not about voyeurism. Blue and I want to share your bond._

Lance frowned. "Where'd you pick up a word like voyeurism?"

_I'm bonded with __**you**__, remember? And you fantasize about her enough that I could see her that way whenever I want, if that's what I wanted. _

"I'll think about it. Don't pressure me. And especially not over the next few days. She's gonna need the time to get over our last day of bonding."

_Tell me._

"No. How many times to I have to tell you not to be a pervert?"

_I want you to be satisfied._

"I am. There's something else I wanted to talk to you about."

_I can reconfigure my cockpit._

"I'm not making love to Allura here, so stop asking. Pick a new topic."

_I want the fast cub, not the thinking cub._

"Hey, you be nicer to Vince if he has to fly you again. You know Daniel's hurt and can't fly right now."

Red laughed. _The fast cub is more like you._

"Uh, okay. Anyway, I wanted to ask you about Storos." Lance could feel the heat from the volcano seeping into the cockpit all of a sudden. "If that's okay with you."

He could feel Red sigh all around him. _Storos was my pilot long ago._

"I know that. I found some armor he owned in a little lake in the woods and now it's glowing and King Alfor is telling me I'm gonna find his sword too but I have no idea how to find that. I mean, when I was underwater, I could _feel_ the armor, like you were there and I was just grabbing the controls. But there wasn't a sword. And now the armor is glowing and I can pick it up but no one else can and…"

_The sword is yours. _

"Yeah, great. That's what Alfor said. But where is it?"

_The armor glows for you because you are my pilot. _

"Again, I know. Is there a way to make it…not glow?"

_Accept it. It is yours now. You and I are one._

"Uh, okay. So, what? I gotta wear the armor?"

_It is yours now._

"And what should I tell Allura about that?"

_You and she are one. You and I are one. She and Blue are one. _

"So that's, like, three? I'm not good at math."

_Bring her. Mate here._

"Quit it. Just tell me we're okay to fly."

_I will fly for you whenever you want._

"Good. That's all I needed to know. I'll be back in a few hours. Enjoy your recharge." Lance felt like Red had been a little evasive with him. He had the feeling it had to do with his refusal to bring Allura. He had to force himself to stop thinking about sex in the volcano as he arrived back in the Control Room. Keith was waiting for him.


	49. Chapter 49

Although the inexplicable rage that had characterized his encounters with Lance before the trip to Eris was no longer present, Keith still found it hard to be in the same room with his friend. He was angry and confused and infuriatingly jealous. Lance had what he wanted most and there was nothing he could do about it. Worse, Keith knew that it was probably his own fault. If he had confessed his feelings to Allura a long time ago… He pushed the thought from his mind and straightened up as Lance lingered near Red's chute.

Keith decided it was up to him to make the first move and said in a louder voice than he intended, "I'm sorry I tried to kill you."

"You don't have to apologize for that. It wasn't your fault. Crazy brain pheromones and, uh, stuff."

Keith nodded and bit the bullet. "You love her."

"Yeah." Lance took a few steps forward and stopped, awkwardly rubbing his neck and avoiding eye contact. "I should have said something. To you, I mean. Obviously she knows."

"Maybe it's better you didn't."

"Maybe. But I'd feel better if I'd been honest from the start."

"But when was the start? I know we've both been interested for years, but when did you _know_?"

"When did I know or when did I admit it to myself?"

"Exactly."

Lance was silent, shifting from one foot to the other, the way he used to when an academy professor asked him a question he knew the answer to (almost inevitably in regard to flying), but didn't want to answer for fear of looking too smart. Keith had never understood why he did it, besides a half-explanation from Lance about nerds not attracting the ladies. There was some information Lance just seemed to like keeping to himself. Keith wasn't letting him have this one. "Well?"

"You're asking when I _knew_, right? Because nothing happened, nothing Keith, until the past, like, week. I swear."

"Just answer the question, Lance."

"It…it was at this GA thing while you were out looking for Black. Coran had set her up with this prince who got too drunk to stand up, so I ended up stepping in. I spent most of the night dancing with her and…I was looking in her eyes and…you know how bright they get when she smiles…and…and…I was done. I knew I never wanted to be with someone else. And that it would be impossible to be with her. So I told myself I was just buzzed on the champagne, but…the feeling didn't go away and I understood that it had been there for a long time and…"

"It's funny," Keith interrupted, "but I knew at a ball too. There's something about dancing with her that…not that it matters now."

Lance had walked closer and pulled up a holochair for himself. "She didn't know."

"Know what?" Keith leaned against the console rather than sitting.

"That we both fell for her."

"Really?"

"She feels bad about unintentionally hurting you."

"Of course she does, but she shouldn't." Keith found it hard not to continue gushing over Allura, but it somehow seemed inappropriate now. "Guess a lot's gonna change."

"You're not kidding. I mean, I'm gonna marry her." Lance was grinning like the happiest man on the planet. "Not right away, but maybe in a year or two. Did you ever think I would get married? And have kids? We're gonna have kids! Can you imagine me being okay with that? But I am and I'm even happy about it. Excited. It's…amazing."

"So this means you've finally grown up?" For some reason, Keith felt better hearing how seriously Lance was taking his relationship with Allura. It was more assuring than anything Lance could say. "No more sarcastic attitude or snarky comebacks?"

"Nah, those are personality, not immaturity."

Keith stood and extended his hand. "Congratulations, Lance. You're a lucky man."

Lance looked at the hand suspiciously for a moment. "Keith, I…if she'd picked you…I'd be way more of a jerk about it."

"I know."

"Okay, just so that's clear." He shook Keith's hand firmly. "So…what do we do?"

"We defend the universe. Like we've always done."

"Excellent. So we're good?"

"We will be. It might take me a little while to get used to it, but…yeah." After a pause he added, "I am happy for you."

"Thanks, man. Hey wanna see something cool?"

* * *

><p>Allura had decided to stay with the research team as they waited for news on Rina's burn rather than going with Lance to confront Keith again. She wanted to avoid Keith until things had settled down a bit. After some consideration about the words she wanted to use to apologize, she realized she didn't feel like she needed to apologize. It wasn't her fault Keith had been in love with her and not told her. Or that Lance had been in love with her and had told her and she had been in love with him and everything had worked out better than she could have imagined. She couldn't have bonded with Keith, couldn't even imagine what it would feel like. Lance was like a warm presence in her mind; she was aware of him, his body, his thoughts, just as comfortable background to her own thoughts. She liked having him there.<p>

_You like feeling me inside you. Good to know._

She blushed and turned away from the other people in the room, in spite of the fact that the statement had only been in her head. _I didn't realize you were listening in on my private thoughts. _

_I think you need to redefine your concept of privacy, especially if you're going to be sending me mental images of us cuddling in bed._

_I didn't…well, I didn't mean to. What are you up to?_

_I'm taking Keith to see the armor. Hope it's still glowing. Red gave me an idea about it._

_Be careful. Dr. Gorma still hasn't let us know how Rina is and I don't want you getting hurt. _

_You know me, babe. Always careful._

_And you wonder why I…here's Gorma._ Allura did her best to block out Lance's sexually charged goodbye as she turned to the doctor.

"Well, before I began working with the Voltron Force, I would not have considered myself a burn specialist," he paused to push his glasses up his nose, "but having since developed a specialized salve to treat the wounds I am forever seeing, I've become something of an authority. The young lady will recover provided we change her bandages daily, debride the wound and apply the salve. Two weeks and she should have full use of her hand again."

"Amazing." Dr. Tag was shaking his head. "I thought her burn was worse."

Gorma stroked his beard. "The burn was very serious. She was simply lucky to be here where we could treat her quickly and appropriately. Anywhere else, and she would be permanently disabled. As I said…" He shot a pointed look at her.

Allura was quick to say, "The Voltron Force is fortunate to have you to treat us, Dr. Gorma. Now, if Rina can have visitors, I'm sure her colleagues would like to…"

"Of course, princess."

She took the opportunity to slip away in the confusion. She needed to find out what Lance was up to.


	50. Chapter 50

Lance dismissed the castle guards Allura had assigned to the researchers' room as he and Keith arrived. "Take a break, guys. Grab a coffee or something."

"Sir, the Princess said…"

"Don't worry about it. She's cool with you guys taking a break while Keith and I take a look at the armor." He activated his Voltcom and balled his fists to spar with the air for a moment. "Y'know, gotta figure out how to transport flaming hot armor. If you've got ideas on how to handle it…?"

One of the guards held up his hands. "No thank you. I heard that chick screaming. We'll be back in twenty?"

Lance shut off the Hot Hands. "Make it half an hour."

Keith frowned as the two guards walked quickly down the hall. "You didn't mention lying to the castle guards when you told me about the Storos armor. What exactly are we planning to do to it?"

"Just an idea Red gave me. He said I have to accept the armor because it's mine now. I think I have to wear it."

"I thought it sent one of the researchers to the infirmary with serious burns." Lance nodded in response, hoping in spite of his feelings toward her that Rina was all right. Keith continued, "And you want to wear it? Did you run this by Allura or is she not able to translate the insane parts of your brain yet?"

He ignored the insult and skirted the issue of telling Keith exactly how much Allura knew about what he, Lance, was planning. "She trusts me to handle this one. Besides, the gauntlet didn't burn me when I picked it up. I think I'm special or something."

He thought he heard Keith murmur, "Yeah, special, all right," but ignored him.

Lance went directly to the armor and began to put it on, piece by piece. He began to feel something as he strapped on the breastplate, something that only grew as he snapped the gauntlets into place. He felt warm, but not uncomfortably so. He definitely wasn't getting burned. He took a deep breath and fitted the helmet over his head. For a moment the room swirled and he was worried he'd made a really big miscalculation, but the colors suddenly resolved into a man, standing across the room in a hazy aura Lance recognized from his interactions with King Alfor. He cleared his throat and tried to sound regal, "You, um, must be King Storos."

"Yeah, kid. So," Storos removed the helmet and shook out a wild mane of red hair, "you're the new Red Lion."

"Lance," Keith asked with some concern, "who are you talking to?"

He had completely forgotten Keith was there. "It's the ghost of King Storos. You don't see him?"

"It's just us in the room."

"He's sitting right there." Lance indicated the stone ledge where Storos had propped himself. The king waved. Keith stared with no reaction.

Storos shrugged and smoothed his beard. "Don't worry about it, kid. You've got Arusian royal privilege. Somehow. You haven't gone through the ceremony of King's Sword yet, have you?"

"Not yet, but they keep talking about it."

"Must have something to do with you sleeping with that super hot princess, then."

"Hey, isn't she your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter or something?"

"It's enough generations removed that I can state she's hot without it being creepy."

"Dude, you're a ghost only I can see. The creep factor has been surpassed."

"I think it would have worked if you'd just put on the helmet, but the armor looks good on you. Almost as good as it looks on me."

Lance could hear Keith comming someone, but ignored him. "So…I know why King Alfor is around, but…"

"I've been drifting around the castle for the past few days, since you found the gauntlet. Glad you finally figured out how I could manifest myself."

"You've just been waiting around to chit chat with me?"

"I guess that's one way of looking at it. I think I'm supposed to give you some advice."

Lance waited for a few moments before prompting, "Well?"

"Well…it's complicated."

"You're a ghost who showed up when I put on your armor. Try me."

"Okay, it's more than complicated. It has to do with choices I made as king, choices I think I need to warn you about."

"I'll take any advice you can give me."

"First, don't be an ass. I've heard what the research people have been saying about me and I can't deny most of it. Except the harem part. I never had a harem and, though I may have flirted, I never cheated on my wife."

"I'm not ever cheating on Allura so you don't have to tell me that."

"Fine, fine."

"Your highness…"

"Just Storos will suffice."

"Um, okay. Storos, what is it you really want to tell me?"

The king stared into his eyes and Lance realized that blazing green had been prevalent in the Arusian royal family for a long, long time. He was about to speak again when Storos began, "You have to understand that kings always flew the Black Lion. The Black Lion was the leader, it was only right for the king to have him. They had trained in the other Lions, but always moved to Black eventually. I had spent all my time training in Red. I didn't want to give up Red, but I did. One week later, I was no longer a Voltron pilot."

"Could you maybe supply a few more details than that."

"You're the Red Lion. You have a connection to him and he to you. Would you be willing to give that up?"

"Nope."

"Neither was I, but I did. It's the reason I left the Voltron force, the reason the next six kings were not pilots. Black Lion rejected me. I tried to go back to Red, but he was angry."

"Yeah, he didn't really want to talk about you."

Suddenly, Allura burst into the room. "Lance, why are you wearing…King Storos!" She bowed to the ghost in the corner, who waved off the show of respect.

Keith, whom Lance had completely forgotten was in the room, sounded exasperated as he asked, "You can see him too?"

"How did this happen? Why are you wearing the armor?"

"Just a feeling I had. Got an idea from Red and, uh, ran with it. Sorry, didn't realize he was going to be a selective ghost. I mean, Alfor talks to all of us."

"I'm here for a specific purpose. Once you understand, I think I'll have to leave."

Lance tried to rub his neck, forgetting he was wearing a full suit of armor and merely producing a clang. "All you've told me so far is don't switch Lions, which I had no intention of doing anyway."

"Loyalty, Lance. To be a true king you must be loyal. You are the Red Lion. Be the Red Lion." Storos was starting to fade as he repeated, "Be the Red Lion. And enjoy your queen." He was gone before Lance could reply to the last bit.

He turned sheepishly toward Allura. "Yeah, about the armor…"

"It's not glowing anymore."

"Huh?" Lance pulled off the helmet and saw that she was right. "Probably should have told you what I was planning, right?"

"After what happened to Rina?"

"How is she?"

"She'll be fine, but don't try to distract me. I'm annoyed with you right now."

_So, not the right time to suggest sex in Red's cockpit?_

_Never the right time._ She quickly switched back to speech, "Keith, how could you let him do that?"

"He said he had it under control. I heard the gauntlet didn't burn him earlier, so I figured it couldn't hurt to give it a try. I just wish I could have seen this Storos guy."

"Just imagine me with more hair. Hey, do I have to grow a beard once I'm king?"

"If you're king. There's still a chance you'll just be royal consort."

He considered sweeping her into his arms, but didn't out of respect for Keith's presence. "As long as I'm with you, I'll be royal bathroom rug. Now, do you guys think you can help me get out of all this armor?"

"Not really, no."

"I agree with Princess Allura. Shall we go check on Rina?"

"I think that's an excellent idea, Keith."

Lance was left to struggle out of the heavy metal on his own. "Royal doormat, maybe. How the heck did I get this on in the first place?"


	51. Chapter 51

**M Rated content** in the second part of the chapter.

* * *

><p>Allura smiled shyly at Keith as they trod the all too familiar path to the castle infirmary. She felt an awkwardness that she'd never felt with him before. The silences were no longer comfortable so she spoke up, "I still want to be friends, if we can."<p>

Keith coughed before saying, "Of course we can. It's going to take me some time to get used to King Lance, but…"

"It's not a guarantee that he'll be king."

"Everyone seems to think so. From what he said you're already planning a wedding and family."

"Oh, that's…well, true." She blushed. She supposed it was a good thing if Lance was confiding in Keith, but, even with the constant monitoring of Dr. Lunnen, she wasn't sure how she felt about _everyone_ knowing she was sleeping with Lance. "If he doesn't pass King's Sword, he'll be my consort. Hopefully no one else will be able to pick up the sword. I believe that happened ten or so generations back and it was very awkward with the king and queen being married to other people. The main royal line was maintained only when King Nurinac and Queen Loana couldn't have children."

Keith wasn't terribly interested in the history so much as the ceremony. "What is King's Sword, exactly? I keep hearing about it but all it sounds like is Lance has to pick up a sword."

"Yes. And no." She felt as if she were still teaching basic Arusian history to the Voltron Force and had to remind herself that, until now, there was no reason King's Sword would have ever come up. "It's a ceremony…we have a sword with the most important royal relics called the Sword of the Gods. It was believed to be forged by the gods from the very core of the planet for Alephros, the first king of Arus. The sword is connected to Arus. Only members of the royal family in line for the crown or those fully accepted as members of the royal family can wield it. Right now, only I can handle it. If Lance can pick up the sword, it will confirm that he is a king of Arus and can be crowned beside me."

In spite of his experiences on Arus, Keith seemed to remain skeptical. "You do know there's a reason they're called legends, right?"

"Does it matter _why_ it happens that way? My family has ruled here for thousands of years. All I know is that I'm the only one currently who can lift the sword."

"What about Larmina?"

"No, I doubt she could lift it even if she wanted to. Although if something were to happen to me before an heir is born, it's possible she would gain the ability. Look, the point is…every time a non-Arusian prince or princess has married into the Arusian royal family, the Ceremony of King's Sword has been performed to determine if they can be crowned King or Queen."

"Uh huh. And…the sword decides? For the planet?"

"You know, I don't make fun of your culture."

"I'm not making fun. I mean, I'm not about to argue that Arus doesn't have a little magic going for it." Keith gave her a half-smile with a twinkle in his eye that would have melted her not long before. "I _am_ the pilot of a sentient robotic Lion that forms a giant robot that protects the universe."

"I believe the last time King's Sword was invoked was when my great-grandparents were married."

"But the Drule invasion happened after that. Maybe the sword got lost between then and now."

"No, the sword is safe. When the time comes, all Arusians who want to will have the chance to life the sword. That includes you, Keith."

"Still seems strange to me." He ran his hand along the stone wall of one of the older hallways they were now walking. "Couldn't it just be some strange coincidence? No one in my family ever mentioned that we were from anywhere but Earth."

"But your instincts on that ship, Keith…"

He suddenly turned, "Did you really not know?"

"That you're Arusian? I had no idea before…"

"No," he interrupted gently, "I meant about me. And Lance. That we had feelings for you."

"Keith…" She didn't want to discuss it with him. She'd been embarrassed to talk about it with Lance, and they were now routinely…she flushed as she thought about it. "I didn't have any idea. I think it's important that you try the sword, though. When the time comes."

She stopped short of the door of the infirmary. "You know, I have some royal business to attend to. I think Rina might appreciate a visit from her favorite Lion's pilot."

He rolled his eyes, but said, "Think a ride in Black will help her feel better?"

"It couldn't hurt."

* * *

><p>Lance yanked his finger from one of the clamps on the breastplate of the armor. "Damn, that hurts."<p>

_Idiot._

He turned with a loud clank and grinned. _Knew you wouldn't abandon me in my hour of need._

_I would hardly call this anything other than your own fault. _Allura's nimble fingers made quick work of the rest of the clamps holding the breastplate, the only piece of armor he hadn't managed to take off himself.

He took a deep breath as he was finally free of the constrictive piece. _Thanks. Not that I couldn't have done it myself._

_One thing you apparently couldn't do by yourself was put my ancestor's armor back on the table in a respectful manner. _

He looked sheepishly at the pile of gleaming metal at his feet. "Oh. That was my next step."

"And where are my guards? Did you dismiss them, too?"

"He assured us it wouldn't be a problem, your highness." The guards had chosen that moment to make their reappearance.

Allura was in full-on royal mode now. "You two will not be held responsible. However, now that the armor is no longer glowing, I no longer think your presence here is necessary. You're dismissed."

The two men saluted and nearly ran out of the room with the door banging behind them. Lance was just about to start making excuses for the pile of armor on the floor when Allura tackled him. _Whoa, frisky. _He was flat on his back on the researcher's table when he noticed a serious potential cause for concern. "Allura…your eyes. They…they're glowing blue."

_So?_ She purred hard and kissed him deeply. It was almost enough to make him forget how much he loved her green eyes when he felt another presence seeping into his consciousness. She pulled back for a moment. _Red eyes. Think this means we should get to our Lions?_

_No time._ His pants suddenly became a bigger impediment than any piece of armor he could imagine. She came to his rescue again, freeing his length with a deft movement. Who needed a sword anyway? He wasn't sure how he did it, but within a few seconds he had her leaning on her forearms, the globes of her perfect ass pressing into his groin. He could give a damn what color either of their eyes were as he entered her, pushing harder than he remembered from previous experience while she mewled with pleasure beneath him.

Holding her by the waist, he pulled her into him with each thrust. It felt as if he had claws holding her in place. He could feel himself getting close as her cat-like demands became more urgent and he leaned down, teeth digging into the skin on the back of her neck. The next few moments were a blackout of pleasure and fulfillment. He felt himself slide out of her with a wet squelch as he collapsed on top of her half-naked body.

He opened his eyes a minute later to an unsettling sight on the back of Allura's neck. _Oh my God, I bit you._

_Is it bleeding?_

_No, you can just see the teeth-marks but…holy Hell, Allura. _He kissed the spot, where a purplish bruise was emerging. _Maybe our Lions weren't just teasing about our having sex in their cockpits. _

She sighed and snuggled against him. _Red first. _

_Why Red?_

_Males are always less patient. I just wish Blue had warned me that the Lions' spirits would take us over if we didn't include them in our bond. _

_Is that what just happened? _He turned her face and saw only the beautiful green eyes he loved so much. "Sorry I bit you."

"It's a good thing I have long hair. Now stop stalling and help me find my pants. We need to get to Red."

Lance had never complied with such a disappointing order so quickly. Red was finally going to get what he wanted.


End file.
